OSU Opens As 5.5 Point Favorites Over Texas

Photo Attribution: US Presswire

Two years ago, after OSU started 8-1 with Weeden and Blackmon and Texas started 4-5, the Cowboys were only -5 favorites in Austin. Last year much of the same, and only -7 favorites. This year we know much less about OSU and Texas looks much better than it has in recent memory.

And OSU opened as a 5.5 favorite.

The team that got drilled by Arizona (which lost to Oregon 49-0 yesterday) and is starting a freshman at quarterback for the first time in his college career opened as nearly a touchdown favorite over mighty Texas[1. I’ll admit, nobody has any idea how mighty Texas is after routs of Wyoming, New Mexico, and Ole Miss but one would think they are mightier than the team that was routed by Arizona AND that just lost its starting quarterback.].

This isn’t a “we have insider info that Wes Lunt is going to be coming out of that tunnel on Saturday” line. It’s more of a “we have insider information that somehow Brandon Weeden and Josh Cooper found another game of eligibility somewhere” line.

Last week one of the guys who helps me with this site (Amilian) and I texted a little about what the line would be for this game. I said Texas by 7.5, he said Texas by 6.5. So I sent him a text this afternoon that just said “5.5!!!” He hadn’t seen the line yet, all he said was “oh cool, I was only one off.”

I want to say this speaks to how far we’ve come as a program. We can hang with the big boys now! We don’t rebuild, we reload!

But in the last hour that line has already been bet all the way to Texas -1.5. A 7-point swing in one hour.

My solace in that: the number of times I’ve found myself saying “how does Vegas do it?!” when watching them nail a number I thought was ridiculous.

Hope I’m saying that late this Saturday night.