2008 Big 12 Championship: Missouri (9-3) vs Oklahoma (11-1)

By WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook

Let’s just get this out of the way first regarding Saturday night’s Big 12 title game in Kansas City: Bet the over!

Two high-scoring teams and two defensively challenged clubs face off in Missouri and Oklahoma, and the current over/under number on WagerWeb.com is 78.5.

I mean, is there any way this game doesn’t go over? The two teams combine to average 1,047 yards and 98 points per game. The Sooners have scored 58 or more points in five straight games and are No. 1 nationally in scoring — 53.3 points per game. They also rank No. 3 in total offense and have gained at least 500 yards in six straight games.

Oklahoma is a 16.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.com.

Sam Bradford and Co. face a Mizzou defense that ranks last in the Big 12 and 116th in the country against the pass, giving up 277.0 yards per game. The Tigers lost to OU twice last season, and this year’s Mizzou club doesn’t appear anywhere near as good. The Tigers are coming a 40-37 loss to Kansas, once again showing no pass defense. And they’ve already been handled by Big 12 South teams Oklahoma State and Texas.



Chase Daniel is having a pretty good year but has a career-high 13 interceptions and has thrown at least one in seven straight games, and OU leads the Big 12 in takeaways. Daniel has thrown for 864 yards in three career losses to OU, but has only one TD pass with six interceptions and six sacks. But in Jeremy Maclin (88 catches, 1,175 yards, 11 TDs), he has the best gamebreaker on the field.

Look for the Tigers to try and run the ball, something that Texas did well against Oklahoma. Derrick Washington is fourth in the Big 12 with 963 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns. Missouri has averaged 184.4 yards rushing in the last five games

A win here does two things for the Sooners: Gets them into the BCS National Championship Game and probably locks up the Heisman for Bradford, assuming he has a typical game despite torn ligaments on his non-throwing hand (that could mean a lot of shotgun for OU). Bradford has had a record-setting season with 4,080 yards passing, 46 TDs and only six interceptions.

The Sooners have tied the NCAA record with 89 touchdowns in a season, and need only 17 points to break the season scoring mark of 656 points set by Hawaii in 2006.

OU is 5-1 in the Big 12 title game under Bob Stoops. The Sooners have beaten the Tigers six times in a row, twice last season and 18 of 19 overall.

By the way, the weather report for Kansas City on Saturday night is 33 degrees and clear, so maybe the cold temps will slow these teams down. Or maybe just the defenses.

Bet on the 2008 Big 12 Championship Game