Aaron Marner

No. 5 Oklahoma 27, Iowa State 20

Oklahoma is a better football team than Iowa State.

It’s pretty simple. Kyler Murray is a really good quarterback. The Sooners have good receivers. Even with running back Rodney Anderson out for the season, Oklahoma’s offense will still throw points on the board.

Oklahoma’s defense isn’t anything incredible, but when you have one of the five best offenses in college football, you don’t need the 1985 Bears’ defense to win games.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Iowa State jumped out to an early lead and kept it close. If Zeb Noland is starting at quarterback, the Sooners could get burned by his arm once or twice. But after both teams settle in, I think Oklahoma will take over.

Iowa State’s defense will keep it fairly close but in the end I don’t think the offense keeps up with Kyler Murray.

Noah Rohlfing

No. 5 Oklahoma 31, Iowa State 14

Iowa State’s offense was a shambles in the week two loss to Iowa. After the first drive, no-one was able to get the offense moving.

I don’t have super high hopes for the Cyclones this week, either. Oklahoma’s defense may not be otherworldly, but in the first two games of the season the Sooners have improved schematically from their lackluster start to the 2017 campaign. I expect the Cyclones to break through on a couple of drives, but not when it matters most.

On the defensive end, the Cyclones will need the game of their lives. Even without star running back Rodney Anderson, Oklahoma has another All-American caliber talent in Trey Sermon and a very strong offensive line, not to mention dazzling receivers in Hollywood Brown and CeeDee Lamb. Iowa State’s inexperienced safeties will have to be flawless to not get beat deep by Kyler “The Five Million Dollar Man” Murray.

Iowa State can hang around, but this ain’t 2017. Oklahoma will be ready.

Trevor Holbrook

Iowa State 34, No. 5 Oklahoma 32

I’m doing it. I’m picking the upset in Ames.

The last time Iowa State knocked off the Sooners in Ames, the game took place at Clyde Williams field, and “Save the Last Dance for Me” by The Drifters was the top song on the Billboard Hot 100.

Needless to say, it’s been awhile.

While Iowa State’s home drought against Oklahoma still persists, the Cyclones hold a one-game win streak against the Sooners.

Everyone knows the story of Kyle Kempt filling in at quarterback, tossing three touchdowns with 343 yards and leading Iowa State to its first win over Oklahoma since 1990.

This time around, it’s another backup quarterback potentially stepping in. Kempt went down with an MCL injury in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk game. Redshirt sophomore Zeb Noland jumped into the game, producing 43-yards passing on a 40 percent completion rate behind a struggling offensive line.

However, Noland is missing traits Kempt possess, but he brings skills Kempt doesn’t have. Noland takes more chances than Kempt in the limited time he’s played, but he has the arm to back it up.

The Oklahoma defensive line isn’t as good as Iowa’s, and the Cyclone offensive line should improving, heading into week two.

With a little extra time, Noland can open up the Sooner defense, allowing junior running back David Montgomery more room to run.

Defensively, Iowa State has one less weapon to worry about after Oklahoma announced running back Rodney Anderson is out for the year.

The Cyclones won’t shut down Oklahoma’s offense, but if Iowa State limits running back Trey Sermon, forcing Kyler Murray to be the main cog to the offense, Iowa State will put its offense in a position to win.

K Rambo

Iowa State 17, No. 5 Oklahoma 42

I’m not doing it. I’m not picking the upset in Ames.

Iowa State looked rather incompetent on the offensive side of the ball last week. Mediocre quarterback play and poor play calling left an effective defense in the cold in Iowa City. I’m not convinced we’ll see anything different in Ames against a much, much better team.

Perhaps I’m a pessimist; I laughed when Cyclone fans said “we want ‘Bama,” after beating Oklahoma and TCU. I felt vindicated when they promptly lost three of their next four games to the likes of West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Kansas State.

With Tom Manning having departed for the Indianapolis Colts, I wasn’t sure Campbell and company would have the offensive prowess to handle in-game adjustments and game plan to their strengths and their opponent’s weaknesses. After watching them play Iowa last week, I’m becoming more certain of the inverse.

Yes, Oklahoma star running back Rodney Anderson will miss the rest of the season, but I expect a more talented and better coached team to embarrass the home team on Saturday.

Make no mistake: Oklahoma wants to exact revenge at Jack Trice Stadium this weekend. They likely will do just that.

Also, can David Montgomery throw?