NORMAN — Before the season, Oklahoma’s Oct. 17 matchup with Kentucky felt like a bit of respite after an early season schedule that was one of the nation’s toughest.
But the Wildcats have had some serious bite under first-year coach Will Stein, knocking off No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 10 LSU over the season’s first six games.
No. 15 Kentucky comes to Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to face the Sooners at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Sooners will need some big plays if they are to pull off a second consecutive victory over a ranked opponent.
Last week was a good one for the bold predictions.
Lloyd Avant’s rushing touchdown gave a clear win and the other two — while they didn’t technically come through came close and those plays played roles.
Instead of Kip Lewis scoring the defensive touchdown for the Sooners, it was Peyton Bowen who picked off Arch Manning and returned it for a touchdown.
And the Sooners did attempt a fake at one point but Texas called a timeout and OU used that to soften Texas’ rush on Tate Sandell’s third-quarter field goal. That came after Oklahoma blocked a Texas punt early in the game and recovered it for a touchdown.
So we’ll see if there’s more success this week as turn toward three bold predictions for the Sooners’ showdown with the Wildcats:
The Sooners win the Turnover Battle
Kentucky has been one of the best teams in the country in turnover margin all season while the Sooners have struggled in that category.
But Oklahoma’s defense has started creating more turnovers over the last couple games even as their opponents have gotten tougher.
The Sooners have forced multiple turnovers in each of their last two games, with three interceptions in that time.
Kentucky has had just two turnovers total over their last four games but the Wildcats and quarterback Kenny Minchey haven’t faced a secondary like Oklahoma’s.
The Sooners are able to force Minchey into at least a pair of interceptions and even though Oklahoma’s offense might not be able to avoid turning the ball over at least once, John Mateer is able to avoid stringing turnovers together as Oklahoma comes out on top of the turnover margin.
Lloyd Avant Rushes for 100 Yards
Colorado State transfer Lloyd Avant has topped 70 yards twice this season, including a season-high 79 yards rushing in last week’s win over Texas.
The Sooners’ offensive line showed improvement in run blocking in the second half of the Red River Rivalry and they’ll take another incremental step forward against the Wildcats.
Avant becomes the first Oklahoma running back to reach triple digits since Xavier Robinson ran for 115 yards and a touchdown last season against Tennessee.
Again, it’s not a major shift forward but it’s at least a much better overall performance on the ground from a group that has averaged less than 70 yards per game total over the last three games.
The Game Goes to Overtime
Kentucky has had plenty of overtime experience, with back-to-back one-point victories in overtime.
The Wildcats beat LSU 35-34 in overtime last week after knocking off South Carolina by the same score the week before.
Oklahoma has not played in an overtime game since a 51-48 loss to Texas Tech in 2022 after the Sooners blew an early 24-6 lead.
The Sooners’ last overtime game came in the 2020 Red River Rivalry game, a wild 53-45 quadruple-overtime victory.
Saturday’s game figures to be close and the Sooners find themselves in overtime for just the 12th time in program history.
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