College Football Betting: Texas moves to No. 1
College Football Betting: Texas moves to No. 1
The Texas Longhorns, led by Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley, vaulted into the top spot of the rankings after upsetting previously No. 1 Oklahoma on Saturday. That wasn't the only shakeup near the top of the rankings or the Big 12 as Oklahoma State followed that up Saturday night with a 28-23 win over Chase Daniel and the Missouri Tigers to spoil a chance for a No. 1 vs. No. 2 this weekend in Austin.
Now that was a football game.
The Texas Longhorns won this year’s episode of the historic Red River Shootout, upsetting the Oklahoma Sooners (-7) at the Cotton Bowl in a thrilling 45-35 final. It was a gigantic win for the Longhorns; not only did they beat their archrivals, they also took the No. 1 ranking in the nation away from the Sooners. The latest coaches poll has OU slipping all the way to No. 6.
Texas officially had the “away” designation at this supposedly neutral-site matchup in Dallas. That helped give the road dogs a commanding 21-10 record against the betting odds in Week 7, or 67.7 percent. But the road favorites were even more lucrative at 14-6 ATS (70 percent), lifting their season total to 60-45-3 ATS. That’s the most profitable split on the season at 57.1 percent. Most bettors would be very happy to nail four out of seven picks on a regular basis.
As important as the Red River Shootout is, it wasn’t the most shocking upset of the week. We’ll give that honor to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who downed Missouri 28-23 as 14-point road dogs. Missouri was the No. 2 team in the polls and No. 1 in efficiency according to the Fremeau Index. Instead, the ‘Pokes knocked the Tigers down to No. 12 in the polls while taking the No. 10 spot.
The Longhorns (6-0 SU and ATS) and the Cowboys (6-0 SU, 5-0 ATS) are two of only four teams left in the FBS who have yet to drop the cash. The others are the Ball State Cardinals (7-0 SU, 6-0 ATS), who barely got to the pay window with a 24-7 win at Western Kentucky (+16½), and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at 5-1 SU and 4-0 ATS. The Jackets aren’t cheering, though, after scraping by FCS powerhouse Gardner-Webb 10-7 on Sunday.
Although there wasn’t a betting line between the Jackets and the Bulldogs, the low score was fitting in a week where the under went 30-20. Mississippi State (+1) put the brakes on Vanderbilt’s winning streak with a 17-14 win at home, running the ball 50 times and holding the Commodores (5-1 SU and ATS) to 1-for-10 on third-down attempts. That classic combination of running and defense drove the under to the bank on a total of 38 points.
Over in the Big Ten, the Ohio State Buckeyes have the under at 5-1, but it’s not a festive atmosphere in Columbus by any means. Ohio State slipped to 1-5 ATS with another lackluster performance, a 16-3 win at home against Purdue (+18½). The Buckeyes are stuck at No. 11 in the polls despite winning all four games since that embarrassing 35-3 pasting at USC. Penn State (7-0 SU, 4-1-1 ATS), on the other hand, made another step toward the national title with a 48-7 defeat of Wisconsin. The Badgers were +4½ at home.
As for the Trojans, both they and the Florida Gators won last week to continue their long march back up the polls. USC was a 28-0 winner at the Coliseum over a stumbling Arizona State squad (+27½), and Florida made the biggest splash in the SEC by creaming the defending champions and No. 3-ranked LSU Tigers (+7 on the road) by a 51-21 score. The Trojans are all the way back to No. 4 in the polls, with Florida No. 7 and LSU all the way down to No. 14.
At the other end of the FBS spectrum, three teams remain “perfect” at a combined 0-16 ATS: Clemson, Wyoming and Washington State. It’s a sad turn of affairs for the major conference Tigers and Cougars, but the more interesting story from a handicapping perspective is coming from Laramie. The Cowboys fell to 2-5 (0-6 ATS) courtesy of the Utah Utes (-23½), who manhandled Wyoming 40-7. Give the ‘Boys credit for even getting on the scoreboard, something they failed to do in two of their previous three games. Wyoming hasn’t cashed in since Week 3 of the 2007 season at 0-14-1 ATS.
The Texas Longhorns, led by Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley, vaulted into the top spot of the rankings after upsetting previously No. 1 Oklahoma on Saturday. That wasn't the only shakeup near the top of the rankings or the Big 12 as Oklahoma State followed that up Saturday night with a 28-23 win over Chase Daniel and the Missouri Tigers to spoil a chance for a No. 1 vs. No. 2 this weekend in Austin.
Now that was a football game.
The Texas Longhorns won this year’s episode of the historic Red River Shootout, upsetting the Oklahoma Sooners (-7) at the Cotton Bowl in a thrilling 45-35 final. It was a gigantic win for the Longhorns; not only did they beat their archrivals, they also took the No. 1 ranking in the nation away from the Sooners. The latest coaches poll has OU slipping all the way to No. 6.
Texas officially had the “away” designation at this supposedly neutral-site matchup in Dallas. That helped give the road dogs a commanding 21-10 record against the betting odds in Week 7, or 67.7 percent. But the road favorites were even more lucrative at 14-6 ATS (70 percent), lifting their season total to 60-45-3 ATS. That’s the most profitable split on the season at 57.1 percent. Most bettors would be very happy to nail four out of seven picks on a regular basis.
As important as the Red River Shootout is, it wasn’t the most shocking upset of the week. We’ll give that honor to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who downed Missouri 28-23 as 14-point road dogs. Missouri was the No. 2 team in the polls and No. 1 in efficiency according to the Fremeau Index. Instead, the ‘Pokes knocked the Tigers down to No. 12 in the polls while taking the No. 10 spot.
The Longhorns (6-0 SU and ATS) and the Cowboys (6-0 SU, 5-0 ATS) are two of only four teams left in the FBS who have yet to drop the cash. The others are the Ball State Cardinals (7-0 SU, 6-0 ATS), who barely got to the pay window with a 24-7 win at Western Kentucky (+16½), and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at 5-1 SU and 4-0 ATS. The Jackets aren’t cheering, though, after scraping by FCS powerhouse Gardner-Webb 10-7 on Sunday.
Although there wasn’t a betting line between the Jackets and the Bulldogs, the low score was fitting in a week where the under went 30-20. Mississippi State (+1) put the brakes on Vanderbilt’s winning streak with a 17-14 win at home, running the ball 50 times and holding the Commodores (5-1 SU and ATS) to 1-for-10 on third-down attempts. That classic combination of running and defense drove the under to the bank on a total of 38 points.
Over in the Big Ten, the Ohio State Buckeyes have the under at 5-1, but it’s not a festive atmosphere in Columbus by any means. Ohio State slipped to 1-5 ATS with another lackluster performance, a 16-3 win at home against Purdue (+18½). The Buckeyes are stuck at No. 11 in the polls despite winning all four games since that embarrassing 35-3 pasting at USC. Penn State (7-0 SU, 4-1-1 ATS), on the other hand, made another step toward the national title with a 48-7 defeat of Wisconsin. The Badgers were +4½ at home.
As for the Trojans, both they and the Florida Gators won last week to continue their long march back up the polls. USC was a 28-0 winner at the Coliseum over a stumbling Arizona State squad (+27½), and Florida made the biggest splash in the SEC by creaming the defending champions and No. 3-ranked LSU Tigers (+7 on the road) by a 51-21 score. The Trojans are all the way back to No. 4 in the polls, with Florida No. 7 and LSU all the way down to No. 14.
At the other end of the FBS spectrum, three teams remain “perfect” at a combined 0-16 ATS: Clemson, Wyoming and Washington State. It’s a sad turn of affairs for the major conference Tigers and Cougars, but the more interesting story from a handicapping perspective is coming from Laramie. The Cowboys fell to 2-5 (0-6 ATS) courtesy of the Utah Utes (-23½), who manhandled Wyoming 40-7. Give the ‘Boys credit for even getting on the scoreboard, something they failed to do in two of their previous three games. Wyoming hasn’t cashed in since Week 3 of the 2007 season at 0-14-1 ATS.
