Calling for Points at AT&T Stadium

The marquée match-up on the first Saturday of the college football season has defending national champion Florida State taking on the Cowboys of Oklahoma State at the home of the Dallas Cowboys: AT&T Stadium in Arlington.  

And while the host NFL team won't be playing on this night, one might think their porous defense was on the field, based on the level of scoring likely to take place in this one.

Bovada has the game sitting at 65 for now, but that number has been on the rise, and for good reason. Not just because of the high-powered offense of Florida State -- led by Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston -- but expect the Cowboys to put up their fair share of points, too.

Okie State averaged 39 points per game last season. And while tonight's starter will be JW Walsh -- who only has five career starts under his belt -- Mike Gundy's system seems to turn inexperienced QBs into leaders of a high-octane offense in a hurry. The Cowboys' problem will be trying to keep up with Winston and the Seminoles' mega-powered attack.  

While we love directing you to Bovada's data tool on our Home page, there's little information to go on, what with this being the first game of the season.

You'll notice a few lofty totals from the two teams' final five games of last season. It should be mentioned that Oklahoma State will only return one starter in the secondary from 2013. And that was a defense that was ranked 52nd overall in total resistance.

I was about to pull the trigger on the Noles here to lay the nearly three-touchdown spread. But the thought of a back-door cover kept me from that. Instead, I'll look for the defending national champs to put up around 40-45 points minimum and count on the Cowboys to score enough reach Bovada's magic number of 65.

My pick:  Florida State v Oklahoma State     over 65

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Result:  Florida State 38 Oklahoma State 31     total = 68     over covers

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