Oklahoma vs Iowa State Big 12 Championship Odds, Lines and Spread

• Oklahoma is a 5.5-point favorite over Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
• Oklahoma is on a six-game winning streak and Iowa State has won five games in a row
• See the odds, spread and pick on the game below

The Big 12 Championship Game provides a compelling matchup, pitting one of college football’s most storied programs against one that has negligible success.

Oklahoma (7-2) will be looking to win its sixth conference title in a row when it faces Iowa State (8-2) at 12:00 p.m. Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas

Fittingly, Iowa State is the underdog in this game. The Cyclones have not won a conference title since 1912 – 108 years ago – when it shared the Missouri Valley Conference crown with Nebraska.

Big 12 Championship Game Oklahoma vs Iowa State Odds

Odds taken Dec. 16 from FanDuel

Oklahoma has won six straight games in a row since losing to Iowa State 37-30 on the road on Oct. 3 as a 7.5-point favorite. The Sooners are 10^th in the College Football Playoff rankings and No. 12 in the AP poll.

Iowa State is on a five-game winning streak, which has pushed it to No. 6 in the CFP rankings. The Cyclones are No. 8 in the AP poll, the highest ranking in program history.

Hot Young Coaches

Two of the hottest young coaches in the sport will square off as Lincoln Riley leads Oklahoma against Matt Campbell’s Iowa State team. Both have been mentioned prominently in the NFL coaching rumor mill over the last two years.

Riley has a 43-8 record in four seasons since being promoted from offensive coordinator in 2017 when Bob Stoops retired.

Here’s Lincoln Riley from Tuesday talking about the importance of playing this week

“Just simply for our football team, we need to play games.”

(via Sooner Sports TV) #Sooners pic.twitter.com/80nw57q9AC

— Josh Callaway (@JoshCallaway714) December 10, 2020

Campbell’s record is not as gaudy at 34-27 in five years. However, in the context of Iowa State’s history, it is an impressive mark.

In the 30 years prior to Campbell’s arrival from Toledo, the Cyclones had just eight seasons of .500 or better while the program cycled through five coaches.

Riley stepped into a great situation but deserves credit for not only maintaining Oklahoma’s success but building upon it. The Sooners have gone to the CFP in each of Riley’s three full seasons.

Intriguing Matchup

Iowa State has one of the best running backs in the country in sophomore Breece Hall. He will be going up against a strong Oklahoma run defense.

Hall has rushed for 1,357 yards and 17 touchdowns on 222 carries this season. He has also logged at least 91 yards in all 10 games and surpassed 100 yards eight times.

Breece Hall: Grown man

pic.twitter.com/ZQzCeolav6

— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 4, 2020

Thanks to Hall, the Cyclones are 12^th in the nation with an average of 5.4 yards a carry and 30^th in rushing yards at 199.9 a game.

However, Oklahoma is fourth in rushing defense as it allows just 93.6 yards a game. The Sooners’ 3.1 average yards allowed per attempt ranks ninth.

Hall had 139 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries when the teams met in the regular season. It might be hard for him to duplicate those numbers this time, though.

QB Comparison

If Oklahoma can slow down Hall, then Iowa State’s fate will likely rest in the hands of junior quarterback Brock Purdy.

Purdy has had a fine season. He has completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 2,272 yards and 17 touchdowns with six interceptions. Ten of those scores have come in the last 3.5 games.

Brock Purdy, magician. pic.twitter.com/vek03vLNcL

— Tyler Hansen (@t3hansen) November 16, 2019

However, Purdy is not as dynamic as Oklahoma counterpart Spencer Rattler. The redshirt freshman has thrown for 2,512 yards and 24 TDs while being picked off seven times.

Rattler gave Iowa State problems back in October, going 25-of-36 passing for 300 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Second Time Around

Oklahoma is a better team than when it lost in Ames two and a half months ago.

The Sooners were without running back Rhamondre Stevenson and defensive end Ronnie Perkins. Both were serving six-game suspensions from the NCAA for failing a drug test.

Stevenson has rushed for 382 yards and six touchdowns in four games. Perkins has four sacks and eight tackles for loss.

I think Ronnie Perkins wants to end a life tonight pic.twitter.com/930rKApqE0

— Barstool Sooners (@OUBarstool) November 22, 2020

Yet while Oklahoma seem poised to get revenge in the rematch and has plenty of big-game experience, Iowa State is not a pushover. It would be unwise to sleep on the Cyclones with a hot quarterback in Purdy and an even hotter coach in Campbell.

The Pick: Iowa State +5.5 (-112)