NCAAF: TEXAS BIG FIESTA BOWL FAVORITES
The Ohio State Buckeyes are desperate for respect as they face the Texas Longhorns in Monday night’ Fiesta Bowl.
Ohio State has lost each of the last two national championship games. With that said, coach Jim Tressel’s team is happy to be back in the Fiesta Bowl, site of its last bowl win over Notre Dame three years ago.
This year’s opponent is Texas, who has been installed as an eight-point favorite by oddsmakers after an impressive 11-1 regular season. Bettors are backing the Longhorns at a 4-1 ratio.
In addition to the game and Total wagering, make sure you check out the wide array of props for this contest.
This game has a lot of intriguing matchups. Texas has one of the best passing attacks in the nation with quarterback Colt McCoy, but the Buckeyes have one of the best pass defenses to combat it.
Ohio State likes to run the ball first with Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells, but Texas has perhaps the best run defense in the country. The Longhorns have proven to be vulnerable against the pass but can OSU freshman signal caller Terrelle Pryor take advantage of the situation?
Pryor is still more of a runner at this point, although he did throw for 226 yards in their home game against Penn State. He’s also had a few weeks of practice to work on the passing game and we’ve seen other inexperienced quarterbacks really blossom during bowl games last week.
Texas is 7-1 ATS after a win by 21 or more points, nonetheless are terrible bowlers. Texas is 8-16 ATS all-time and even worse 5-12 ATS as favorites.
The Buckeyes have been failing in big games and need an upset to repair pride for Scarlet and Gray. Coach Tressel teams are 18-9 ATS versus offensive teams scoring 31 or more PPG.
Fiesta Bowl Series Trend: Oklahoma lost the last two Fiesta Bowl games outright as a favorite of seven-points or more, contributing to a run of 5-2 straight-up and ATS overall by the underdog.
The Sooners’ loss last year to West Virginia also snapped a 10 game straight-up and ATS winning streak by the Fiesta Bowl team with the better straight up record. Texas boasts that edge this season.
Top ATS Trend
• TEXAS is 14-3 ATS (+10.7 Units) vs. excellent passing defenses allowing 5.25 or less passing yards/attempt since 1992. The average score was TEXAS 30.8, OPPONENT 21.2 – (Rating = 2*)
Top Totals Trend
• Texas is 29-15 OVER (+12.5 Units) in non-conference games since 1992. The average score was Texas 35.8, OPPONENT 21.8 – (Rating = 1*)
Recent Ohio State Bowl Game Trends
* Dogs have had their day in Ohio State bowl games, 6-3 straight-up & 7-2 ATS in last nine.
* Ohio State is 3-0 straight-up & ATS in Fiesta Bowl since 2003.
* The last seven Ohio State bowl game totals have seen 5 Over’s, 2 Under’s.
Recent Texas Bowl Game Trends
* Underdogs are on a run of 9-3 ATS in his last 12 Texas bowl games.
* Texas is 2-1 SU but 0-3 ATS in its L3 bowl games vs. Big Ten teams.
* The Over is 7-2 in the last nine totaled Texas bowl games.
