NCAAF: TEXAS FACES TEST AS NEW #1
The Texas Longhorns are fresh off an upset of #1 Oklahoma, but there’s no time to rest on their laurels as they host Missouri this Saturday night.
The new #1 in the polls, the Longhorns have been installed as seven-point favorites for this Saturday’s Big 12 showdown. This just one of the Week 8 early lines you can find at Sportsbook.com.
Texas beat Oklahoma 45-35 last week in the most recent “Game of the Century”. This was considered one of the great games in the history of the series and the Longhorns won by running the ball better and refusing to fold despite playing from behind for most of the game.
This week’s game would have an even bigger matchup if Missouri didn’t get shocked last week at home by Oklahoma State, 28-23. The Tigers would have been ranked third in the country with a victory but now find themselves sitting at #11.
Alabama is still steaming after getting bypassed for the top spot in the country. Part of the reason is they weren’t fresh in the voter’s minds in the midst of a bye-week. Bama also played one of their worst games of the year in their last outing, a close 17-14 home win over Kentucky.
This week, Alabama hosts Mississippi as big 13 ½-point favorites. Ole Miss already has one gigantic upset this year at Florida, but asking them to do it again may be a little much.
College football aficionados are excited about three other Top 25 matchups. The first is #22 Vanderbilt (+15) at #10 Georgia. Cinderella Vandy saw their fairytale season take a hit last week when they lost at Mississippi State.
That ruined their perfect 5-0 mark on the season and dropped them nine spots in the rankings. They also are not getting a lot of respect from oddsmakers with this spread.
Georgia continues their brutal schedule with LSU and Florida following this one. The Bulldogs beat Tennessee last week and a win over Vandy will move them into a tie in the SEC East lead with Florida.
Oklahoma has dropped to 4th in the country and they host #16 Kansas as big 18-point chalk. The Sooners may be dragging a bit after seeing their conference and national title hopes take a big hit, so it will be interesting to see if they can muster enough enthusiasm to cover such a large spread.
The final Top 25 affair of the week is #12 Ohio State (-3.5) at #20 Michigan State. Ohio State has clawed back to respectability after being blown out by USC a month ago. However, Michigan State is no pushover as winners of six straight since an opening loss at California.
Thursday night has two good ones on tap with Florida State (-11.5) at NC State and #9 BYU (-1.5) at TCU. Florida State is quietly 4-1 after consecutive wins over Colorado and Miami. The Seminoles currently sit right outside the Top 25. This is a big spread though especially with a lot of favorites dropping on Thursday night.
BYU is one of the most underrated teams in the country, witness the fact they beat UCLA 59-0 earlier in the season. They have a legitimate chance to go undefeated this year with TCU and Utah their two biggest tests.
