Odds courtesy of TonyBet.
Texas vs Oklahoma Odds
Texas is more than a touchdown favorite at football betting sites for Saturday’s Red River Rivalry, while the O/U is sitting at just 39.5 points. That low total makes sense given how well both teams have defended through the opening month of the campaign.
The Longhorns have dominated the last two meetings, beating Oklahoma 34-3 in 2024 before cruising to a 23-6 victory last season. The Sooners did win a 34-30 thriller in 2023, though, and this rivalry has produced no shortage of surprises over the years.
Texas vs Oklahoma Analysis
Texas entered the campaign as one of the national title favorites, and Steve Sarkisian’s group has lived up to the hype so far. The Longhorns are a perfect 4-0 and have already grabbed a pair of quality victories, beating Ohio State in their season opener before going into Knoxville and taking down Tennessee 20-17 in their most recent outing.
While Texas have found ways to win, the offense hasn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders. Arch Manning has completed just 63.5% of his passes for 862 yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions through four games. The Longhorns are averaging 33.3 points per contest, but they’re putting up just 378.5 total yards per game.
The defense has been a completely different story. Texas are allowing only 13.3 points and 271 yards per game, and that unit has been the driving force behind their unbeaten start. The Longhorns have also had an extra week to prepare for Oklahoma after sitting idle last weekend, which could be important in a rivalry game of this importance.
Oklahoma, meanwhile, desperately need a victory to get their season back on track. The Sooners have dropped two of their first four games and enter Saturday with a 0-1 record in SEC play. Brent Venables’ group has struggled to consistently move the football, averaging only 22 points and just over 320 total yards per contest.
John Mateer has thrown for 883 yards and eight touchdowns, but turnovers have been a major problem for this offense. Oklahoma have already given the ball away 10 times in four games, something they simply cannot afford to do against the top-ranked team in the country.
Much like Texas, the Sooners have leaned heavily on their defense. Oklahoma are surrendering only 16 points and 238 total yards per game, which helps explain why the total for Saturday is sitting below 40 points. If the Sooners can protect the football and prevent Texas from creating short fields, they should have a chance to keep this game competitive.
Texas vs Oklahoma Picks
Texas are clearly the better team on paper, and the Longhorns have dominated this matchup over the last two years. However, their offense hasn’t been explosive enough for me to feel overly confident laying more than a touchdown against an Oklahoma defense that has played very well.
The Sooners have their issues offensively, but they’re allowing just 16 points per game and should be able to make Manning work for everything on Saturday. With this being a neutral-site rivalry game and the total sitting below 40 points, every possession will matter. But instead of taking a winner, I like the Under.
Pick: Under 39.5 (-117)/TonyBet
