Central Michigan at Oklahoma State Preview For Week 1

Who has the edge in this Thursday night matchup?

Scroll down to see our model's best bets and insight into each team for Thursday night's Week 1 matchup.

Scroll down to see our model's best bets and insight into each team for Thursday night's Week 1 matchup.

Central Michigan Chippewas

Central Michigan is a massive underdog in this game to the much-hyped Cowboys, but you can't immediately just rule them out of this one. Covering the spread is much different than winning outright. The Chippewas were really hurt this past offseason when some of their best players transferred to bigger schools or went to the NFL, but they are used to that happening. They still will have enough talent on offense this season to be a dangerous team to anyone who underestimates them.

QB Daniel Richardson doesn't get enough credit with how he keeps this offense churning, a true game manager that doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Believe it or not, they actually had the nation's leading rusher in 2021 with Lew Nichols, and he is coming back for 2022. With those guys leading the show, they will still be capable of putting up good numbers every weekend.

As for the defense, the secondary is the strongest unit on the field for them, and should be one of the best in the MAC this season. They have a great pass-rush as well, and generated the most tackles for loss in college football in 2021. Central Michigan will once again be one of the strongest teams in their conference.

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Oklahoma State Cowboys

The Cowboys are projected to absolutely destroy Central Michigan by over three touchdowns according to oddsmakers. Make no mistake, this will be a great team in 2022. They will have one of the most balanced, but explosive offenses in college football, but the real story may be their defense. It was great last season, and it has the potential to be even better this year.

The defensive line for Oklahoma State is loaded with talent, and even though the team lost their top four tacklers from 2021, they still have more than enough to give most teams fits on a nightly basis. They do have a new defensive coordinator in Dereck Mason, and with that comes questions, but he should be able to fit in quickly and keep the momentum going from last season. He's inheriting one of the best squads in the nation.

The Chippewas lost both of their offensive tackles to the NFL in Bernhard Raimann and Luke Goedeke, and even though the interior of the line is still pretty good, the outside may struggle to contain these talented edge-rushers of Oklahoma State. Richardson will not have very long to find his targets in the pocket, and you can expect at least a few sacks in this game for the Cowboys.

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My Favorite Bet: Central Michigan +21.5

I just think this is too large of a spread at 21.5. Oklahoma State will most likely win, and I wouldn't be shocked if they won by 10 or more, but over three touchdowns is a lot to be laying. Central Michigan is not a pushover, and if you look at history, the Cowboys struggle early in their seasons. They had a hard time getting by Missouri State in a 23-16 win in Week 1 last year, they had an equally difficult time beating Tulsa to start the 2020 season, and they actually lost to Central Michigan 30-27 in Week 2 of 2016.

Oklahoma State will win this game, but I'm rolling with the Chippewas on the spread.

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