Red River Rivalry Prediction
Will Oklahoma rebound from its loss to Iowa State today at 3:30PM ET when it takes on Texas in the Red River Rivalry?
THE ODDS: According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Sooners are now 9-point favorites to beat the Longhorns, who opened as 7.5-point underdogs. As for the total, the number hit the board at 62.5 but has climbed to 64.5 at the majority of online sports books.
OKLAHOMA SOONERS: The Sooners enter this rivalry banged-up. Nose guard Matt Romar appears unlikely to play and will miss his third consecutive game. The team should have safety Steven Parker back after he practiced this week and offensive lineman Dru Samia also appears likely to return. That said, receiver CeeDee Lamb and running back Abdul Adams could both miss today’s game due to injuries and without them, Oklahoma will need production from other players that have not played much to this point.
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TEXAS LONGHORNS: One of the biggest question marks facing Texas is whether or not it can protect young quarterback Sam Ehlinger. He threw it 50 times without getting sacked in the Longhorns’ 40-34 win over Kansas State last week but Texas still ranks 92nd in the nation in sacks allowed (2.4 per game). Oklahoma has 12 quarterback take downs, so protecting the fleet-footed Ehlinger will be a huge priority today.
WHO COVERS: As of this writing, 54% of the betting public is taking the points with Texas, yet the line moved from 7.5 up to 9. That could indicate sharp play on Oklahoma, although that still doesn’t scare me off the ‘Horns in this huge rivalry.
Texas continues to get better every week under Tom Herman, whose teams have a penchant for winning as an underdog against ranked opponents. The Longhorns were embarrassed 51-41 at home by Maryland in their season-opener but since then, they went toe-to-toe with USC before falling by three in double-overtime and then found something special in Ehlinger in the win over Kansas State. The Longhorn defense continues to get better as well, allowing an average of just 17 points over their last four games.
Sharp action or not, there’s too much value in taking Texas with the points. We just don’t know how Oklahoma is going to respond after losing at home to Iowa State last week. But even if the Sooners are motivated, this Longhorns team is on an upswing.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 7 PREDICTIONS: TEXAS LONGHORNS +9