NCAAF Big Game Betting – Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
The scoreboards should be lighting up fast and furiously on Saturday night when the Oklahoma State Cowboys (8-1, 8-0 ATS) put their unblemished mark against the football betting odds on the line in Lubbock against the Texas Tech Red Raiders (9-0, 4-2-1 ATS).
Without a doubt, this is the most important game of the weekend on just about every front imaginable. Texas Tech is the only undefeated team remaining in Big XII play, and can take a huge step towards appearing in their first Big XII title game with a victory. A loss will certainly knock Oklahoma State out of both the Big XII and BCS pictures. Should the Red Raiders win their L/3 games of the regular season and the Big XII championship, they’ll be headed to the BCS title game for the first time in school history. Tech moved all the way up to #2 in the BCS this week, while Oklahoma State comes in at #9.
It was business as usual for Cowboys bettors last week, as they notched their ninth consecutive cover dating back to last season when Okie State trounced Iowa State 59-17 in Stillwater as 30-point home chalks.
QB Zach Robinson kept his name in the Heisman Trophy mix by throwing for five touchdowns and racking up a total of 461 yards of offense in the victory. WR Dez Bryant hauled in four touchdowns and 171 receiving yards. Five different Cowboys found the end zone on the day for a unit that ranks 7th overall, averaging 512 yards per game, and is 5th in points scored at 45.3 points per game. Oklahoma State has scored at least 24 points in every game this season.
If sports betting fanatics thought that was impressive, they’ll have their socks knocked off by the numbers the Air Raid offense is putting up this year. Texas Tech has reached at least 35 points in every game this season, while the unit ranks 2nd in total offense (559.3), 1st in passing (424.6), and 3rd in points scored (47.0).
The only number that mattered on Saturday was 6, the margin of victory for Texas Tech over their rivals from Texas in its 39-33 thrilling victory. WR Michael Crabtree hauled in a touchdown pass with 0:01 to go to give the Red Raiders their most important victory in school history. The Heisman candidate finished the day with 10 catches for 127 yards and that score. Fellow Heisman hopeful QB Graham Harrell threw for a whopping 474 yards and two touchdowns against the stout Longhorns ‘D’.
Last year’s meeting in Stillwater ended with the Cowboys trumping the Red Raiders 49-45 in a game that featured 1,328 yards of offense. The Okies covered the spread for the third straight season against Texas Tech that day, and the home team has won six consecutive games in this series.
Oddsmakers have installed the Red Raiders as slender 3.5-point favorites in this critical Big XII South showdown with the ‘total’ set at 73.5. Even though both offenses can light up the scoreboard in a hurry, keep in mind that both defenses hold opponents to under 24 points per game.
