Bodog Beat

The Sooners are favored by -19 to win this one against Tulsa. (AP Images)

Saturday's Tulsa-Oklahoma game is just another non-conference matchup for the Sooners, but it's a potential program-defining game for Tulsa. Don't believe me? Here's what Golden Hurricane coach Todd Graham said this week:

"This is what our guys work for," Graham said. "This is the kind of games our guys like to play in. We have an opportunity to be on the national stage and an opportunity to play one of the best teams in the nation. … One of the things that we have as a goal is that we want to be a team that's recognized nationally as a championship program. The only way you can do that is to go out there and play teams like Oklahoma and be successful. We haven't done that as a program. That's the next step for us."

After all, Tulsa is the picked-on little brother in the Sooner State. It has had some good teams the past several years but doesn't really have a signature victory under Graham, who led the school to at least 10 wins and a pair of C-USA Championship Games and bowl wins in his first two seasons. And No. 12 Oklahoma has won nine of the past 10 meetings in this series, with Tulsa's last victory coming in 1996. The last meeting, in 2007, was a 62-21 Sooner rout.

The Golden Hurricane, who are 19-point underdogs at Bodog Sportsbook, should be able to score on Saturday, as they rank 10th in the nation in points after leading the country in total offense the past two seasons. And the Tulsa defense might be able to get to Sooners QB Landry Jones behind that inexperienced OU offense line – Tulsa has 10 sacks already this year. It's only Jones' second career start as  he continues to fill in for the injured Sam Bradford.

However, Tulsa's inexperienced offensive line also has struggled this year, allowing eight sacks, and Oklahoma has arguably the best defensive line in the country. It's unlikely Tulsa will be able to run the ball at all, so it will need a huge day from QB G.J. Kinne, who has completed 37 of 55 passes for 521 yards and five touchdowns this year. Look for him to throw the ball at least 40 times on Saturday.

Last weekend, a Conference USA team (Houston) knocked off a ranked team from Oklahoma (OSU). History won't repeat itself, but Tulsa certainly is capable of covering here.

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