How's this for a Big 12 showdown? Texas and Oklahoma meet up for another rendition of the Cotton Bowl. Check out the opening odds and which way we're leaning with our college football picks.
Opening Odds
The Sooners hold a three-point advantage in the eyes of
college football odds makers for this encounter in Dallas. They're favored by a
field goal at most books, though two-and-a-half is also there for the taking if
you act fast.
There shouldn't be a shortage of points here on Saturday,
explaining why the total has been chalked down at 61.
Coming in, three of the Longhorns' five games have gone
OVER, while only one of the Sooners' three publicly-lined matchups have
exceeded the total.
Texas Longhorns
In one of the more exciting games you're ever bound to see,
the Longhorns fell just short versus Geno Smith and the West Virginia
Mountaineers last weekend.
In a game that was constantly back and forth, Texas did an
admirable job at trying to keep up with the dominant Smith.
Much of that credit should go to David Ash, who completed
22-of-29 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Joe Bergeron was the
go-to guy in the redzone, getting into the endzone on four separate occasions.
We are amazed at what Ash has been able to accomplish as a
sophomore. He's completed 77.5 percent of his passes and has 11 touchdowns with
only one interception. Not bad for a guy that had to win the starting job
before the season started.
Under Ash's watch, the Longhorns have been scoring points at
a ridiculously high clip. They're averaging 46.8 PPG so far, the sixth-highest
mark in all of college football.
That said, their defensive performances have been a tad on
the worrying side. They're allowing 26.4 PPG and have surrendered at least 31
points in three straight games.
Oklahoma Sooners
After a confidence-boosting win over Texas Tech, the Sooners
should be feeling good about their chances this weekend.
Especially since they blitzed Texas 55-17 in last year's
meeting.
Landry Jones was on fire in that win, throwing for 367 yards
and three touchdowns. It was the Sooners' defense that was most impressive
though, as they held the Longhorns to 259 yards of total offense and forced
five turnovers.
So far this season, Oklahoma has had terrific balance. They
rank #30 in total offense and #18 in total defense, with their play versus the
pass (only 160.5 yards per game allowed) impressing in particular.
Offensively, Jones has been solid. Nothing spectacular, but
he's done what he's needed to do, throwing seven touchdowns against two
interceptions. Three of those scores have been to Kenny Stills, who has assumed
an even bigger role now that Ryan Broyles has moved on to the NFL.
All in all, there's not much Oklahoma's doing poorly this
season. They looked great against the Red Raiders last week and will be liking
their chances against a Texas team they've beaten in consecutive meetings.
Be sure to check back later in the week as we will nail down our College Football picks on both the total and the spread. But for now let's just go with an early lean with the current odds.
Early Lean: Oklahoma Sooners -2.5
Both
offenses are great, however the edge defensively right now has to go the
Sooners. Additionally, Ash has been mature beyond his years, but the edge at
quarterback still has to go to Jones, who's won two of three Cotton Bowl games
in his collegiate career.