Oklahoma is currently a three-touchdown favorite against Nebraska, which is just about right.

Happy Tuesday, friends and fans!

The start of the 2021 college football season is still more than three months away, but the Oklahoma Sooners are already expected to be the betting favorite in every game they’re scheduled to play, at least according to BetMGM. Sooners Wire’s Patrick Conn recently broke down some of the more interesting early lines.

In OU’s marquee non-conference matchup against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the oddsmakers currently favor the Crimson & Cream by three touchdowns. As for the Red River Rivalry, the early line views the Texas Longhorns as a 10-point underdog.

Not since the 2010 Big 12 Championship Game have Oklahoma and Nebraska gone head-to-head on the gridiron. After moving to the Big Ten Conference, the Huskers’ program hasn’t been nearly as relevant as it once was decades prior. For now, that line looks about right to me, although I imagine it’ll be closer to -17 come game week.

The line for the Sooners’ bout with the Longhorns is the most intriguing to me, particularly because Oklahoma has not beaten Texas in the Cotton Bowl by double-digits since 2012 (OU beat UT, 39-27 in Arlington in 2018 CCG). If I were a betting man, I’d be keeping a very close eye on that line as the 2021 season approaches.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Supers tickets sell out with the quickness, OU baseballer earns first team all-conference honor, Tampa re-signs AB and more!

OU Links

• After breaking several NCAA records and sweeping the competition over the weekend, Patty Gasso and her top-seeded Oklahoma softball squad are officially set to host the 16-seeded Washington Huskies in the Norman Super Regional beginning Friday, May 28 at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Game two will be played on Saturday at 2 on ABC, and the if-necessary game three is currently scheduled for Sunday at 3 on ESPN. Good luck, Sooners!

• Speaking of softball, tickets for this weekend’s super regional at Marita Hynes Field sold out in a hurry on Tuesday. With stadium seating now back to full capacity, it should be another electric environment for the home team. Boomer!

• This offseason, the folks over at Pro Football Focus have been high on the amount of individual star power returning to OU this fall. According to PFF, Lincoln Riley’s group boasts the nation’s top QB and EDGE rusher in Spencer Rattler and Nik Bonitto, respectively. I’d say that certainly bodes well for the potential of both sides of the ball.

• The similarities between former Oklahoma receivers Mark Clayton and Marquise Brown are striking when it comes to their first two seasons in the NFL. Both were first round picks, and both became Baltimore Ravens. So what will it take for ‘Hollywood’ to ascend to heights Clayton never saw? Ravens columnist John Eisenberg has more.
• On Monday, redshirt junior infielder Tyler Hardman was named to the All-Big 12 First Team. In 2021, the sensational Sooner slugger led the conference in batting average (.403) hits (87), doubles (19) and total bases (146.)

Around the Sports World

• After passing a physical, the reigning Super Bowl winner Tampa Bay Buccaneers have re-signed veteran WR Antonio Brown to a one-year, $6.25 million contract.
• After 16 seasons with the Washington Capitals, living legend Alex Ovechkin is set to become a free agent this summer. Reportedly, the 35-year-old has let it be known that he wants to re-sign a new deal with the Caps and eventually retire with the organization.
• Dallas Cowboys LB Jaylon Smith is reportedly shelling out roughly half a million dollars to switch his jersey number from No. 54 to No. 9. The reason the cost of the switch is so high is because he must first buy out the current inventory of No. 54 Smith jerseys before he can don his new one. Is it really worth it? I mean, I guess I just can’t relate.
• Former LSU Tigers starting QB T.J. Finely has officially announced his decision to transfer within the SEC West division and join the Auburn Tigers.
• In other college football transfer news, former Texas A&M Aggies WR Camron Buckley is now headed to Big Ten country to play for the Indiana Hoosiers.

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