RJ says "yes"

This “game” between the Sooners and the Utah State Aggies can’t be considered a competitive contest because it is a coronation.

It will tie a school record for sellout home football games at 69 straight. This is also the game in which the Sooners will notch their 800th victory, adding to its legacy of excellence.

More than 82,000 members of Bob Stoops’ court will be there to witness another jewel in the Sooners’ crown, and they are expecting to see a decidedly one-sided affair.

OU is ranked in the preseason Coaches’ Poll as the No. 8 college football team in the country. The Sooners are also the only top-10 team that had at least five losses in 2009.

Now they have to validate the coaches’ faith in their ability to rebound with Machiavellian vengeance. And after losing to Texas, falling short of the Big 12 championship and settling for an appearance in the 2009 Sun Bowl, believe me the Sooners are vengeful.

If the spread at the end of this game is even 14 points to the good, eyebrows will be raised, the wrong kind of questions will be asked and “what should be” will become “what should have been” all before the second game of the season.

Aggies’ fans will make the 18-hour drive from Logan, Utah, to Owen Field — the same hallowed grass that has seen five Heisman Trophy winners, seven national championship teams and 150 All-Americans — and expect to win.

Oh, no they didn’t.

The Sooners need to dismember, disembowel and stomp out all those who have the audacity to come into Norman and not wear the majestic Crimson and Cream. After all, the OU athletic department is kind enough to keep paramedics on hand just for occasions like this.

Respect will be paid.

MJ says "no"

I think OU will blow out Utah State Saturday by several touchdowns.

The spread is currently 34 points. Simply put, OU is too talented to not blow out one of the Western Athletic Conference’s worst teams.

Look for OU to score right off the bat. The score will probably be in the ballpark of 28-0 or so by the second quarter. Then Stoops will send the second and third team onto the field, replacing all the valuable players who can’t afford injury before the Florida State game Sept. 11.

With the replacements in, the lead will diminish because the talent gap increasingly shrinks between OU’s third team and Utah State’s first team.

The Aggies will probably score a touchdown or two before the game ends, narrowing the final margin of victory to around 24 points.

But let’s not dismiss the Aggies ability to score.

They were actually one of the better rushing attacks in the nation last season and still could be despite losing star running back Robert Turbin for the opener.

Dual-threat quarterback Diondre Borel has rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns in the last two seasons. He has also thrown more than 2,800 yards with an outstanding 17-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

The Aggies can score; they averaged almost 30 points per game last season. It’s the defense that has been the ingredient for failure lately.

Last season the team gave up an average of 34 points per game, which ranked at No. 107. Ouch.

If OU doesn’t blow out Utah State Saturday it doesn’t mean the game was a disappointment; it just means Utah State can score on the Sooner backup squads.

Either way — blowout or not — OU won’t move up the rankings with a win over the lowly Aggies, so there should be no disappointment.