Fiesta Bowl Sports Betting Breakdown Ohio St vs Texas
Ohio St. Buckeyes vs. Texas Longhorns 8:00 PM ET
Two perennial powerhouses that have each challenged for BCS Titles recently meet in the Fiesta Bowl Monday night when the Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2 SU, 5-6 ATS) face off against the Texas Longhorns (11-1 SU, 9-3 ATS). This will be Ohio State’s sixth BCS game in the last seven years (more than any other team over that span) and although the Buckeyes have been blown out in the two BCS Title games, they have a perfect 3-0 NCAA betting record in the Fiesta Bowl. Meanwhile, after a fantastic sports betting season, the Longhorns might be disappointed to be playing in Glendale instead of Miami, but HC Mack Brown admits that his team is focused and ready to play this game.
Super-recruit freshman QB Terrelle Pryor has had some ups and downs since replacing Todd Boeckman as the team’s starter after Ohio State’s embarrassing 35-3 college football wagering loss against than #1 ranked USC. Pryor’s numbers weren’t particularly impressive, and his key fumble against Penn State cost the Buckeyes a chance at yet another Big 10 outright title, but during his freshman season his dual-threat ability seemed to foreshadow future greatness. RB Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells had a solid season despite missing three games with injury and carried the load for the offense. During the season, Wells carried the ball 191 times for 1091 yards and eight touchdowns.
While Pryor was adjusting to the offense, Ohio State struggled, failing to cover for Ohio State bettors in six of its first eight games. However, as the season progressed and Pryor got more comfortable, the Buckeyes covered three straight against the NCAA odds to close out the season.
If not for a last second Michael Crabtree touchdown catch in Lubbock, the Longhorns would be in Miami preparing for the BCS Title game instead of preparing for the Buckeyes in Arizona. The Longhorns are led by QB Colt McCoy, who finished second in Heisman voting. McCoy not only got it done through the air this season (291-375 for 3445 yards with 32 touchdowns and seven interceptions), but was also the team’s leading rusher with 576 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Longhorn bettors also saw McCoy’s two favorite targets, Quan Cosby and Jordan Shipley, have outstanding seasons.
Texas put together one of the best records against the college football betting line this season, covering their first seven games for college football bettors before failing to cover three straight, but ended the season with back-to-back covers.
Betting trends for gamblers to know before placing a wager on this game include: Ohio State is 0-2 ATS when listed as an underdog by the college football wagering odds, Texas is 8-3 ATS in the role of the favorite this season, and Texas has won its last four bowl games SU.
NCAA lines have the Longhorns as an eight point favorite in this game with a ‘total’ of 53 points.
