The Texas Longhorns have made a habit of falling just short in big games this season. After beating Kansas State, Texas dropped back-to-back losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State by a combined average of just 4.0 points. The Longhorns should be in excellent position to bounce back this week on the road against the Baylor Bears. Baylor has lost seven in a row to open the season including four in a row against Big 12 opponents. But don’t sleep on the Bears too much in this spot. They are coming off one of their best efforts of the season. They lost 38-36 to a good West Virginia program last week. It’s possible that that spurs them on for another strong showing. The Longhorns are vulnerable given their dicey quarterback situation. They opened up as 10.5-point favorite but the line has dropped. They’re now laying just over a touchdown at Waco this weekend.
Details
Odds: Texas -7.5
Date & Time: Saturday October 28th, 2017 – 12:00 PM ET
Location: McLane Stadium, Waco, Texas
Broadcast: ESPN3
Reasons To Bet On The Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns seemed primed to pull off the upset win over Oklahoma State last week. The Texas defense certainly did its part in holding the Cowboys offense to just 13 points. However, the Longhorns struggled to move the football on the ground and quarterback Sam Ehlinger threw a late interception that sealed the loss. The freshman quarterback has put up some decent numbers this season, throwing for 1,419 yards and six touchdowns. However, Ehlinger also has four picks and simply can’t afford to turn the ball over in key situations. Ehlinger was evaluated for a head injury he suffered in last week’s loss but is expected to be ready for Saturday. As long as he is good to go, the Longhorns should be able to bounce back with a win on the road.
Reasons To Bet On The Baylor Bears
It’s hard to find many reasons to bet on Baylor after such an awful start to the season. The silver lining for the Bears might be the effort they produced in last week’s 38-36 loss to West Virginia. Baylor rallied from down 18 to pull within a two-point conversion of sending the game to overtime before eventually falling just short. If they can play a full four quarters at that level this week then they could have a realistic chance at keeping this game close.
Outlook
We’ve seen a lot of movement on this betting line as we’re not sure what exactly is the quarterback situation. The betting line opened up at Texas -10.5. However, Ehlinger was put in the concussion protocol on Tuesday. That indicates that there’s a chance he won’t be under center. That’s why we’ve seen the line shift all the way down to Baylor +7.5. The total hasn’t seen as much movement, though. The over-under opened up at 56.5 and it has inched up slightly. It currently sits at 57. It seems like bettors are waiting on more definitive news before making a decision.
As much as we want to give Baylor the benefit of the doubt at home as double-digit underdogs the reality is that it’s hard to trust them. Even after last week’s rally the Bears still have three double-digit losses this season. That includes a 59-16 loss to Oklahoma State just a couple of weeks ago. As long as Ehlinger is healthy, he should be able to lead Texas to a much better performance on the road in Waco this weekend. However, make sure you keep an eye on the injury updates heading in to Saturday. Ot will be a much different story for the Longhorns if he isn’t able to go. Texas has fallen just short in some close games against tough opponents this season. They need to take advantage of a much better matchup this week with a chance to add to Baylor’s misery and send them to 0-8 on the season with a lopsided victory.
Prediction: Texas -7.5
Click here to bet on the college football season right now. DSI has a full list of spreads, totals and props for every single game on the board. Get all of the latest lines that you need to get a piece of the action!
