Texas football vs. Texas Tech: Best bets for Week 4

Just a couple of a days from now, No. 22 ranked Texas football will open up Big 12 play on the road against new head coach Joey McGuire and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is about to make his first trip with this team to Lubbock to face Texas Tech at Jones AT&T Stadium.

This is clearly an important game for Sark and the Longhorns to start off conference play on a high note. Texas can extend the winning streak to two games if this team defeats the Red Raiders this weekend. A win over Texas Tech would also give the Longhorns more momentum a couple of weeks out from the Red River Rivalry game against the Oklahoma Sooners.

Texas looked good in Week 3, nabbing a convincing 41-20 win over head coach Jeff Traylor and the UTSA Roadrunners. That win over UTSA moved the Longhorns’ record on the season to 2-1 (0-0 Big 12).

Meanwhile, Texas Tech will be looking to bounce back from a double-digit loss suffered at the hands of the No. 16 NC State Wolfpack on the road on Sep. 17. The loss to NC State last weekend moved Texas Tech’s record on the season to 2-1 (0-0 Big 12).

Here’s a look at some of the best bets as Texas hits the road to travel Lubbock to face Texas Tech in the Big 12 opener on Sep. 24 at Jones AT&T Stadium, with the kickoff time set for 2:30 p.m. CT. This game will be televised on ESPN.

Best bets for Texas football vs. Texas Tech in Week 4

Texas is a 6.5-point favorite over Texas Tech in this game, and the over/under is set at 59.5 points (per FanDuel).

The ESPN Football Power Index gives Texas an 80.5 percent chance to beat Texas Tech.

Best bet No. 1: Texas over 33.5 points (-125)

Last week was a tough one for our best bets. But this week has some team-level bets that are interesting. First is the away team total, which pegs Texas as scoring between 33 and 34 points. We like Texas to hit the over on that one.

The last time that Texas scored fewer than 34 points against Tech in Lubbock was back in 2012. And the Longhorns still scored 31 in that game in 2012.

Best bet No. 2: Under 13.5 points in the first quarter (-122)

Texas had some slow starts this season offensively. The same could be said for Tech. These two teams have averaged a combined 9.8 total points scored in the first quarter of the six games played so far this season. It wouldn’t surprise us to see the same happen this weekend.

Best bet No. 3: Texas Tech +4.5 for the first half (-122)

Texas Tech and Texas have both played some very close games in the first half in the last couple of weeks. With the spread only set at 6.5 points in this game, the smart money could go on Texas Tech to keep this game closer than a five-point margin by halftime.