College football betting: OU, Texas square off
College football betting: OU, Texas square off
Without question, it's the biggest game of the season so far as the venerable Cotton Bowl prepares for Saturday's showdown between the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners & No. 5 Texas Longhorns. OU's Sam Bradford and UT's Colt McCoy are at the center of the focus for fans and bettors alike. But as we've seen so often before, special teams can play such a huge role in a crucial contest like this.
It’s definitely not summer anymore. Just two months ago, handicappers across the continent were sipping Mai Tais and casually checking the MLB betting odds. Now we’re entering the busiest time of year – nothing but wall-to-wall sports as far as the eye can see. And it starts with the most important college football matchup there is.
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 1 Oklahoma (-6½)
Saturday, Oct 11, 12:00 p.m. (ET) ABC
Every October, the Sooners and Longhorns meet for what will always be known as the Red River Shootout and not the corporate-branded “AT&T Red River Rivalry.” The sport’s quintessential rivalry started in 1900, and has been played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas since 1929. This will be the seventh time in eight years that both teams are in the Top 25 rankings heading into the Shootout. The Sooners are 6-2 SU and 5-3 ATS during that span, but Texas is 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS over the past three seasons.
You can’t ask for much more than these two clubs have already given us so far. Oklahoma (5-0 SU, 4-0 ATS) has stomped a mudhole in every opponent that’s crossed its path, while Texas (5-0 SU and ATS) is championship material with a bigger, smarter and healthier QB Colt McCoy running the show. McCoy (16 TDs, three INTs) has matched Heisman candidate Sam Bradford (18 TDs, three INTs) throw for throw. Both teams have top-shelf defenses. There isn’t a lot to pick and choose between them.
But there are a few things. Oklahoma appears to have the advantage in the trenches with a bigger offensive line. Texas responds with a superior special-teams unit featuring much better punt coverage than Oklahoma. If you prefer the Longhorns, shop around and pick them up at +7.
No. 3 Louisiana State at No. 12 Florida (-6)
Saturday, Oct 11, 8:00 p.m. (ET) CBS
This is Florida’s chance to get right back into the national title picture. The Gators (4-1 SU, 3-2 ATS) were tripped up in Week 5 by Ole Miss, but came right back the following Saturday and put a 38-7 hurting on Arkansas (+26½). The defending champions from LSU (4-0 SU, 1-2 ATS) passed their toughest test of the year 26-21 at Auburn (+2); that’s an Auburn team that has just fired its offensive coordinator. LSU is 2-1 SU versus the Gators since Les Miles took over, but only 0-3 ATS.
This SEC battle got a little more heated when Tigers defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois said the team would try to take QB Tim Tebow “out of the game.” Taken out of context, that looks like bulletin-board material, even though Jean-Francois was talking about strategy at the time and mentioned how difficult it would be to lay a hand on the reigning Heisman winner. That’s true, but it’s also true that the Gators defense will use this for motivation, on top of the fact that LSU scored twice in the fourth quarter to win last year’s matchup.
No. 6 Penn State at No. 24 Wisconsin (+5½)
Saturday, Oct 11, 8:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN
The Big Ten pecking order is still being sorted out, but so far, the Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0 SU, 3-1-1 ATS) aren’t just the best team in the conference – they’re right up there at the top of the FBS heap with Oklahoma and Texas. Wisconsin, meanwhile, has lost two close ones in a row to fall to 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS. The Badgers played Ohio State evenly last week before losing 20-17 as 1-point home dogs.
This could be a trap game for Penn State. Wisconsin is a much better team than the record indicates, although at No. 28 in the efficiency rankings and No. 24 in the polls, the Badgers can’t claim to be underappreciated any more. More importantly, the home team has won and covered each of the past four seasons. All four games went under; the total for Saturday night’s tilt is available at 47½ points, much lower than PSU’s other conference games.
Without question, it's the biggest game of the season so far as the venerable Cotton Bowl prepares for Saturday's showdown between the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners & No. 5 Texas Longhorns. OU's Sam Bradford and UT's Colt McCoy are at the center of the focus for fans and bettors alike. But as we've seen so often before, special teams can play such a huge role in a crucial contest like this.
It’s definitely not summer anymore. Just two months ago, handicappers across the continent were sipping Mai Tais and casually checking the MLB betting odds. Now we’re entering the busiest time of year – nothing but wall-to-wall sports as far as the eye can see. And it starts with the most important college football matchup there is.
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 1 Oklahoma (-6½)
Saturday, Oct 11, 12:00 p.m. (ET) ABC
Every October, the Sooners and Longhorns meet for what will always be known as the Red River Shootout and not the corporate-branded “AT&T Red River Rivalry.” The sport’s quintessential rivalry started in 1900, and has been played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas since 1929. This will be the seventh time in eight years that both teams are in the Top 25 rankings heading into the Shootout. The Sooners are 6-2 SU and 5-3 ATS during that span, but Texas is 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS over the past three seasons.
You can’t ask for much more than these two clubs have already given us so far. Oklahoma (5-0 SU, 4-0 ATS) has stomped a mudhole in every opponent that’s crossed its path, while Texas (5-0 SU and ATS) is championship material with a bigger, smarter and healthier QB Colt McCoy running the show. McCoy (16 TDs, three INTs) has matched Heisman candidate Sam Bradford (18 TDs, three INTs) throw for throw. Both teams have top-shelf defenses. There isn’t a lot to pick and choose between them.
But there are a few things. Oklahoma appears to have the advantage in the trenches with a bigger offensive line. Texas responds with a superior special-teams unit featuring much better punt coverage than Oklahoma. If you prefer the Longhorns, shop around and pick them up at +7.
No. 3 Louisiana State at No. 12 Florida (-6)
Saturday, Oct 11, 8:00 p.m. (ET) CBS
This is Florida’s chance to get right back into the national title picture. The Gators (4-1 SU, 3-2 ATS) were tripped up in Week 5 by Ole Miss, but came right back the following Saturday and put a 38-7 hurting on Arkansas (+26½). The defending champions from LSU (4-0 SU, 1-2 ATS) passed their toughest test of the year 26-21 at Auburn (+2); that’s an Auburn team that has just fired its offensive coordinator. LSU is 2-1 SU versus the Gators since Les Miles took over, but only 0-3 ATS.
This SEC battle got a little more heated when Tigers defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois said the team would try to take QB Tim Tebow “out of the game.” Taken out of context, that looks like bulletin-board material, even though Jean-Francois was talking about strategy at the time and mentioned how difficult it would be to lay a hand on the reigning Heisman winner. That’s true, but it’s also true that the Gators defense will use this for motivation, on top of the fact that LSU scored twice in the fourth quarter to win last year’s matchup.
No. 6 Penn State at No. 24 Wisconsin (+5½)
Saturday, Oct 11, 8:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN
The Big Ten pecking order is still being sorted out, but so far, the Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0 SU, 3-1-1 ATS) aren’t just the best team in the conference – they’re right up there at the top of the FBS heap with Oklahoma and Texas. Wisconsin, meanwhile, has lost two close ones in a row to fall to 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS. The Badgers played Ohio State evenly last week before losing 20-17 as 1-point home dogs.
This could be a trap game for Penn State. Wisconsin is a much better team than the record indicates, although at No. 28 in the efficiency rankings and No. 24 in the polls, the Badgers can’t claim to be underappreciated any more. More importantly, the home team has won and covered each of the past four seasons. All four games went under; the total for Saturday night’s tilt is available at 47½ points, much lower than PSU’s other conference games.