Texas football vs. UTSA: Best bets for Week 3

A little more than 24 hours from kickoff against the UTSA Roadrunners, No. 21 ranked Texas football still has some things to figure out heading into the weekend. Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian are getting set to take part in the final non-conference game of the regular season on Sep. 17 against UTSA, and we don’t even know who the starting quarterback will be yet.

Sark and the Longhorns are deciding between junior quarterback Hudson Card and redshirt freshman Charles Wright as to who will be the starter this weekend. Card is currently dealing with a high ankle sprain, while Wright doesn’t really have any live-game experience under his belt at the collegiate level.

There is certainly a large degree of risk that comes with starting either Wright or Card this weekend.

Moreover, Texas comes into this matchup against UTSA sporting a record of 1-1 (0-0 Big 12) after the tough one-point loss to the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide at home on Sep. 10. Sark and the Longhorns still looked impressive in various ways on both sides of the ball against the Tide.

Meanwhile, UTSA comes into this game with a record of 1-1 (0-0 C-USA) after the overtime win on the road on Sep. 10 over the Army Black Knights. Both of UTSA’s games to start the season went into overtime.

Here’s a look at some of the best bets as Texas gets ready to face UTSA at home at Darrell. K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Sep. 17, with the kickoff time set for 7 p.m. CT.

Best bets for Texas football vs. UTSA in Week 3

One day before kickoff, Texas is a 12.5-point favorite over UTSA and the over/under is set at 59.5 points (per FanDuel).

Best bet 1: Under 59.5 points

If Texas had either Card or redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers healthy for this game, I would say to take the over. But unless this one goes to overtime, I don’t think it will go over 59 points.

Best bet 2: Under 108 rushing yards for Bijan Robinson

Star junior Texas running back Bijan Robinson hurt his shoulder last weekend against the Tide. There’s a good chance he will be more limited than usual against what is also a very good run defense in UTSA.

Best bet 3: Over 0.5 receiving touchdowns for Xavier Worthy

Star sophomore wide receiver Xavier Worthy was knocking on the door of getting his first touchdown catch of the season in each of the last two weeks. He had a bad drop in the back of the end zone against Alabama on a nice throw from Ewers. Worthy was also a couple of yards away from getting in the end zone against the Tide on a deep pass from Ewers last week.

This could finally be the week where Worthy breaks through and notches his first touchdown of the season.

According to the ESPN Football Power Index, Texas has a little more than a 92 percent chance to beat UTSA on Sep. 17. Despite heading into this game as a two-score favorite with better than a 90 percent chance to win in the ESPN FPI, the Longhorns have a tough task ahead against the Roadrunners.