Editor's Note: Judd Hall has winning picks on the Texas-Oklahoma game and a guaranteed play in the Mizzou-Ok. State tilt. Click to win!
Bragging rights and the inside track to the Big XII championship are almost always on the line when Oklahoma and Texas greet each other at the Cotton Bowl. This time around, the inside track to the BCS Title Game will go along with the Golden Hat.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened the Sooners as six-point favorites with a total of 56. The total has stayed the same, while Oklahoma has seen its line balloon to seven before settling on its current number of 6 ½. Bettors can make a nice chunk of change by backing the Longhorns to win outright for a return of plus 210 (risk $100 to win $210).
Texas has been impressive on the field this year by winning all five games by a combined score of 236-57. Even bettor for the gambling public is the ‘Horns have gone 5-0 against the spread this year, covering double-digit lines in each tilt, and spreads of 20 or more in four of them.
The Longhorns most recent triumph came as 12-point road favorites at Colorado, 38-14. Colt McCoy connected on 23 of 30 pass attempts for 262 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of picks. Meanwhile, their defense held the Buffaloes to just 49 rushing yards in what could have been a “look ahead” spot for most other squads.
Oklahoma has been just as dominant on the field this season as it has outscored opponents 248-69. And like their counterparts from Austin, the Sooners have posted a perfect 4-0 record against the number.
The Sooners enter this week fresh off of beating Baylor as 24-point road faves, 49-17. They surged out to a 28-0 lead and never looked back. The combined 66 points easily eclipsed the closing total of 61 ½…OU has now seen the ‘over’ go 3-1 this season.
Sam Bradford continued his torrid pace under center for Oklahoma by completing 23 of 31 passes for 372 yards with a pair of scores. The Sooners outgained the Bears 594-269 last Saturday. And while most of the stats suggest total domination, keep in mind that Baylor lost the final three quarters, 21-17.
As much as we could wax poetic about the major talents on both sides of the ball on display at the Cotton Bowl, it’s the men under center that will truly dictate the outcome.
McCoy has his name in the Heisman Trophy mix once again this season not with his arm alone, but he’s getting it done with his legs. The Longhorns’ gun slinger leads the team with 317 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. That is way too many yards for a quarterback to be gaining on his own when you have talent like Chris Ogbonnaya, Cody Johnson and Vondrell McGee in the backfield to shoulder that workload…especially when you’re taking on a defense in the Sooners that is allowing just 97.2 yards per game this season.
Oklahoma will look to Bradford to keep going deep. After all, he’s completing 72.6 percent of his passes this season and 6:1 touchdown to interception ratio. Now the Sooner signal caller gets to launch the ball against a defense that gives up 244 yards through the air.
The Longhorns are 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS when playing a game at a neutral site since 2004. Oklahoma is 6-5 SU, but 5-6 ATS in a neutral setting since 2004.
ABC will be broadcasting this matchup nationally at 12:00 pm EDT.
Colorado at Kansas (-14, 54) 12:30 pm EDT
The Buffaloes has dropped their last two games SU and ATS after beating West Virginia on Sept. 18. Now Colorado will get to take on the Jayhawks, who are fresh off a scare at Iowa State. Kansas is 5-0 SU and 3-1 ATS in Lawrence dating back to last season. Meanwhile, the Buffs are 1-3 SU and ATS away from home since the end of last year.
Kansas State at Texas A&M (+3, 62) 2:00 pm EDT
The Wildcat continue their decent to obscurity under Ron Prince, currently posting a 3-7 SU and 4-6 ATS mark in Big XII matches. They are paying the ‘over’ at an 80 percent clip during that stretch. Texas A&M have seen the ‘over’ go on a 3-1 run recently. The Aggies have performed well for the betting public though when K-State is their opponent, going 4-1 ATS in the last five head-to-head meetings.
Nebraska at Texas Tech (-20 ½, 71) 3:00 pm EDT
Bo Pelini is upset with his Cornhuskers and rightfully so. How can you be pleased with a squad that has received 21 penalties for 170 yards in the last two games? It’s has paid to fade the ‘Huskers recently away for Lincoln as they have gone 1-4 SU and ATS on the road. Look for that record to continue against a Texas Tech squad that was impressive last Saturday against the Wildcats. The Red Raiders are 2-0-1 ATS this season.
Iowa State at Baylor (-4 ½, 59) 7:00 pm EDT
Something tells me that Gene Chizik’s team might have nothing left to give after falling to Kansas, 35-33. Despite the loss, the Cyclones did cover the 11-point spread to improve their record against the spread to 8-2. But Iowa State is just 3-7 ATS in the last 10 road matches. On the other side of the field, Baylor held tough in the final three quarters against the Sooners. And the Bears are on a 3-1 ATS run in the last four scuffles with the Cyclones.
Oklahoma State at Missouri (-14, 79) 8:00 pm EDT
People make a big deal about Oklahoma State’s wide receiver Dez Bryant. I can’t say that I blame them since he catches damn near anything thrown his way. Yet this squad knows how to run the ball well, gaining 215 yards on the ground last week against Texas A&M. The Cowboys have posted a 4-0 mark ATS this year. They’re taking on a Mizzou squad that averages 53.4 PPG on offense, while being on the field for just over 26 minutes. Folks, that is just flat out scary. And the Tigers are on a 5-1 ATS streak versus OSU.
You can reach Judd Hall via e-mail at judd@vegasinsider.com
