After defeating the Mississippi State Bulldogs for a second-straight win and returning to the top-10 of the AP Poll, the Texas Longhorns have started to look a bit more like the dominant team people expected them to be.
And, as the No. 10 Horns head to Columbia to face the No. 19 Missouri Tigers this weekend, Vegas oddsmakers expect for Texas's renewed winning streak to continue.
The Tigers have had their own rollercoaster of a season, sitting at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play just like the Longhorns, but Missouri actually lost to the two teams that the Horns most recently beat: Mississippi State and the Ole Miss Rebels.
Opening odds for No. 10 Texas Longhorns at No. 19 Missouri Tigers
While it is a narrow favoring of Steve Sarkisian's squad, oddsmakers expect Texas to leave Columbia with a third straight win, bumping them to 7-2 overall (4-2 SEC) and dropping Missouri to 6-3 overall (3-3 SEC).
- Spread: -2.5 Texas, +2.5 Missouri
- Moneyline: -150 Texas, +125 Missouri
- Over/Under: +/-44.5 points
Of course, when it comes to this year's Longhorns, you should probably never base your expectations on what the oddsmakers say, with Texas having been favored against Oklahoma and Florida, both of whom they lost to, but then blowing the roof off the spread against Mississippi State.
This week, Texas is favored by 2.5 points over Missouri, with the point total sitting at just 44.5 points between the two teams. That would put the final score somewhere in the ballpark of 23.5-21, with the Horns on top.
When it comes to the moneyline, the advantage is nearly as narrow. If someone bet $100 on Missouri covering the spread or walking away with the win, they would earn just $150 profit. Meanwhile, someone would only have to bet $125 on the Horns covering to earn $100 to their name.
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The Missouri offense has been relatively impressive this season, and the Tigers struggled on both sides of the ball in their losses to Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
Conversely, the Texas defense has been ole reliable through the first six games of the season, arguably performing extraordinarily well even when the Horns lost to Florida and OU.
Over halfway through the season, both teams have their fair share of injuries, something Sarkisian said the Longhorns would place an emphasis on throughout the coming week.
At the end of the day, oddsmakers are making educated guesses just like anyone else, but for right now, it looks like the Horns are heading toward their third straight victory and their fourth ranked win of the season.
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