2023 Texas Bowl – Oklahoma St vs Texas A&M
posted December 22
The Game
We’ve got an interesting Big 12 vs SEC match-up in the Texas Bowl as Oklahoma St and Texas A&M hook up just a few days after Christmas. The FIGHTING MIKE GUNDYS exceeded expectations and made an unlikely run to the Big 12 Championship Game thanks to a big time HEATER in which they won seven of eight games. They were PLASTERED by Texas in the big game (L 49-21) but they’ve got a shot to get to ten wins with a victory in this game. Texas A&M was a major disappointment (again) and only managed to cobble together seven wins during a regular season in which they said BON VOYAGE to HC Jimbo Fisher.
The Details
Texas A&M -2 Oklahoma St (53)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Oklahoma St -1
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Texas A&M 27.5 Oklahoma St 25.5
Oklahoma St offense vs Texas A&M defense
The Pokes have been potent with the THROW GAME at times behind QB Alan Bowman (#37 FBS passing offense) but he makes too many mistakes for our liking (13-12 TD to INT) and has limited mobility to put it nicely. He’ll be missing a few guys in the WR room for this game but the main doods are playing including #1 WR Brennan Presley (85, 839, 6 TD) who’s a 3rd-down conversion machine. The Cowboys’ focus will be getting the rushing attack going with star RB Ollie Gordon who’s by far their best offensive weapon (1,614, 6.3, 20 TD). Gordon really got cooking once they made him the feature RB and recall that he had back-to-back games in which his posted 270+ (!) yards on the ground. The Texas A&M defense is stingy but they’ll be without a TON of starters and key contributors. Their success will depend on the quality of depth on the roster given all the defections and we won’t know how well they’ll perform until the bullets start flying.
Texas A&M offense vs Oklahoma St defense
The Aggies showed some flashes during the regular season but they were very inconsistent and didn’t strike much fear into the opposition (#88 rushing offense, #40 passing). The Texas A&M offense has been one of the hardest hit units in the nation in terms of opt-outs/quitters/transfers/injuries and they’ll be rolling with a 3rd string QB whilst missing their top-two WRs (Smith, Stewart) and a few key OL pieces. QB Jaylen Henderson will be fine in our opinion but he’ll be asked to do a lot in this game. The RB room is intact but they couldn’t run the ball that well when they had their offensive line intact and posed a threat thru the air so we’re skeptical about how much success they’ll have in this contest. The good news is that the Oklahoma St defense is very close to PURE FILTH (#103 total defense, #103 run D, #111 pass efficiency D) so all hope is not lost for Texas A&M.
Trends, Intangibles and More!
Oklahoma St has a yuuuge coaching edge with the legend Mike Gundy and his experienced staff leading the way…..Texas A&M will be rolling with an interim HC and it’s anyone’s guess in terms of who else is still around from that coaching staff…..If you’re getting flashbacks to 2019 ** it’s because these two squads faced off in the Texas Bowl that year and the Aggies escaped with a 24-21 victory.
** You know, 2019. Back when we all knew that men couldn’t get pregnant.
Summary
Texas A&M wasn’t that good when they had all their players. We’ll roll with the Cowboys and Mike Gundy and hope their defense isn’t a complete disaster.
Conclusion
Lean – Oklahoma St +2
‘Official play’ implies this pick is one of our favorites of the week (perceived value, match-up, coaching, trends, etc.). We’re currently playing these picks for the same amount as the leans but it’s up to you how you want to manage your bankroll. Please see the Week in Review posts for more detail.
‘Lean’ implies we are placing a wager on the game.
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