Oklahoma v. Texas Football Betting Odds & Predictions

Written October 9, 2008 by Jack Jones

The Red River Shootout will be by far the biggest game of the college football season so far, as the No. 5 Texas Longhorns and the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners square off in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas this weekend. The early line on this game shows that Oklahoma is a 6.5-point favorite over Texas with the line set at 56.

There really hasn’t been a team as dominate as Oklahoma has been so far this season, including the domination of Baylor, 49-17, in the team’s Big 12 opener. So far this year Stoops’ boys have won by an average of 35.8 points per game.

Mack Brown’s team has made pretty light work of everyone standing in their way as well to this point, going 5-0. They opened up conference play by beating up on the Colorado Buffaloes, 38-14, despite playing on the road.

This is the eighth time in this illustrious rivalry that Oklahoma has come into the game as the No. 1 team in the nation, so far it has gone well all but once. The year was 1963 and the Longhorns were ranked No. 2 when they took away a 28-7 victory.

Nobody has been able to slow down Colt McCoy and the Longhorn offense this year as they have put up 47.2 points per game and 27 first downs per contest. The ground game is gaining 198 ypg while the passing game airs it out for an extra 273.8 ypg. McCoy is a big reason for that, completing almost 80% of his passes for 1,280 yards, 16 touchdowns, and only three interceptions. He is also doing it with his legs, running for 7 ypc and four scores to lead the team. He has the benefit of two great receivers in Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley. Cosby has 32 catches for 416 yards and three scores while Shipley has chipped in 24 catches, 368 yards, and seven touchdowns.

The Longhorn defense will face it’s first real test this weekend against Oklahoma, but so far so good on the year. Texas hasn’t given up a rushing touchdown yet this year and they are only allowing 51.8 ypg on the ground. The pass defense has been susceptible though, giving up 244 ypg, but the team does have a mean pass rush to help force mistakes. If you like the Longhorns this weekend, then bet Texas +7 at BetUS and get up to 145% in signup bonuses!

As great as the Texas offense is, Oklahoma’s is just as good if not better. Sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford can go toe-to-toe with McCoy as he is leading an offense that is putting up 49.6 ppg. His arm has done most of the heavy lifting with a 204.7 passer rating so far, compiled due to a 72.6% completion rate, 1,665 yards, 18 touchdowns, and just three interceptions. He also has plenty of targets to hit with Manual Johnson’s 26 catches, 468 yards, and five touchdowns being his top choice. There is also Juaquin Iglesias and Jermaine Gresham. Iglesias has 23 receptions, 401 yards, and five scores while Gresham has 16 catches for 279 yards and four touchdowns.

The rushing attack has been strong too in averaging 179 ypg and compiling 16 touchdowns. DeMarco Murry with five scores and Chris Brown with six are a two-headed monster coming out of the backfield.

Defensively this team is just as strong in limiting the opposition to just 13.8 ppg. The pass defense has been incredible with only 159 ypg given up. A large part of that success has been getting into the backfield with 42 tackles for losses and 17 sacks in the first five weeks of the season. If you want to take the Sooners, head to Bookmaker where the line is -6.5 and you can get a 20% cash signup bonus!

Predicted Score: Oklahoma 30, Texas 24

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