A little more than 12 hours away from the start of the highly anticipated matchup between Texas football and the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, it looks like some of the major betting lines are holding firm for the first time this week. Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian will be taking on legendary head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, with the kickoff time set for 11 a.m. CT.
Sark and the Longhorns will be looking to prove a point with a very bright national spotlight shining on them on Sep. 10. While very few people expect Texas to come out on top in this game, there is a real opportunity for the Longhorns to prove a point and build up some confidence and momentum heading into Big 12 play.
Entering this game, Texas is a 20.5-point underdog against Alabama. And the over/under is set at 64.5 points (per FanDuel).
There are some bets in this game that look juicier than others this weekend. Here’s a look at some of the best betting odds and prop bets for this meeting between Texas and Alabama at DKR in Austin on Sep. 10.
Best bets for Texas football vs. Alabama in Week 2
Over 64.5 (-115)
The over/under and spread in this game implies that Texas will be downed by Alabama by a final score somewhere in the ballpark of 43-22. I think it would be more likely for this game to end somewhere around 45-21 or 45-24 by the way Vegas is pegging these odds.
It’s also hard to see this game staying very low scoring given the offensive potency that these two teams bring to the table.
Bijan Robinson Over 70 rushing yards (-110)
Texas is going to rely so heavily on star junior running back Bijan Robinson this weekend that it’s very likely he will manage at least 70 rushing yards. If he does get the number of carries I expect him to this weekend, in the ballpark of 20-25, he’s never rushed for fewer than 100 yards with that number of touches in a single game in his collegiate career.
Jermaine Burton Under 73 receiving yards (-113)
The prop bets for this week have the former Georgia Bulldogs transfer wide receiver Jermaine Burton racking up 73 receiving yards against Texas. That would more than double his number of receiving yards from the opener for Alabama last weekend. Given the plethora of new weapons that Alabama has this season, Burton might not get the number of targets he needs to reach that mark.
Time of first score under 5 minutes (-108)
Both Alabama and Texas are going to have some trick plays and different packages ready for this game. I’d expect at least one of these teams to be ready to break out a surprising play and/or package on offense to set the tone early in this game.
Texas comes into this matchup against Alabama sporting a record of 1-0 (0-0 Big 12) after a convincing 52-10 win on Sep. 3 over the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks. Meanwhile, Alabama comes into this game with a record of 1-0 (0-0 SEC) after their dominant 55-0 win over the Utah State Aggies at home on Sep. 3.