The college football odds suggest a high-scoring affair with 61 points on the board, while Arizona is a short favorite to defeat the higher-ranked Sooners.
Please join me as I break this one down with a free pick for Arizona vs. Oklahoma on December 28.
Velero Alamo Bowl Transfer Portal and Opt Opts
Arizona Wildcats
The Wildcats suffered no significant losses to the transfer portal, but LT Jordan Morgan has opted out. Outside of WR Jacob Cowing possibly opting out after accepting a Senior Bowl invitation, the Wildcats are as intact as any other FBS team.
Oklahoma Sooners
The good news for Oklahoma is LB Danny Stutsman and starting S Billy Bowman announced they will return for the 2024 season. DB Key Lawrence was the primary defensive player hitting the transfer portal, but the portal hardest hit the Sooners’ offense.
Starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel was the top-name transferring. Still, Oklahoma lost nearly all of their offensive line to either the portal or opt-outs, including LG Cayden Green, OT Tyler Guyton, and center Andrew Raym. The Sooners also saw their second and third leading ground gainers hit the transfer portal, and we’ll see a brand new Sooners offense Thursday night.
Arizona vs. Oklahoma Best Bets
The good news for Arizona is that they are virtually the same team they were one month ago. The offense is intact, and the Wildcats’ defense, which allows 20 points per game, is also intact. They’ll need both if they want to defeat Oklahoma on Thursday.
The Wildcats are no stranger to playing against nationally ranked teams. Arizona went 4-2 in a six-game stretch against nationally ranked opponents, with a defense allowing the fourth-fewest points per game in the high-scoring Pac-12 and 22.5 this season.
The Arizona defense might have caught a break. Oklahoma is starting a true freshman quarterback, missing most of its offensive line. Still, it does return their top running back and two top pass catchers for an offense averaging the third-most points per game nationally.
There’s no question that Arizona can get stops against Oklahoma, but how they win this game and cover the spread is to put points on the board. They will meet a Sooners defense returning most of the group, allowing a robust 22.3 points per game but 20+ over their last five.
Freshman quarterback Noah Fifita has been dynamite since starting quarterback Jayden de Laura was injured. Fifita threw for 2515 yards with 23 scoring strikes and five interceptions. He has nearly all the critical offensive personnel available to him who scored 27+ in each of their final five regular season games.
Finally, Thursday night should be entertaining, but I expect the Wildcats’ defense to stymie Oklahoma, the offense to find the endzone early and often, and Arizona to cover the -2.5 (-110) at Superbook Arizona.
My best bet: Arizona -2.5 (-110) at Superbook
For more Arizona sports betting picks, check us out at Betting AZ.
