For the final time this regular season, No. 3 Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian will be taking the field at DKR for Senior Day on Nov. 23 against the Kentucky Wildcats in SEC play.
Key Texas players like junior quarterback Quinn Ewers, junior offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., senior defensive tackle Alfred Collins, etc. are expected to participate in the Senior Day walk and play their final home regular season game at Texas against Kentucky this afternoon.
Texas (9-1, 5-1 SEC) still has all of its goals out in front of them for the SEC and postseason for the College Football Playoff. If the Longhorns defeat Kentucky (4-6, 1-6 SEC), and the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station during Thanksgiving week, Texas will be in the SEC Championship Game and will have probably punched its ticket to the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Here's a look at the final betting odds and game prediction for the Week 13 matchup on Senior Day between No. 3 Texas and Kentucky at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX, on Nov. 23 at 2:30 p.m. CT.
Texas football vs. Kentucky odds
Texas is an 18.5-point favorite against Kentucky an hour before kickoff in Week 13. And the Longhorns are favored in the money line (-1450) over the Wildcats (+810), per FanDuel. The over/under is 46.5 points.
The betting odds have moved a couple of points in Kentucky's favor since the Longhorns opened as a 20.5-point favorite last weekend.
Texas football vs. Kentucky prediction
With multiple key Longhorns starters on both sides of the ball expected to enter the NFL Draft next spring, I expect a big game against Kentucky this weekend from the likes of Ewers, Banks, Collins, and senior defensive back Jahdae Barron.
Ewers needs a strong bounce-back performance after Texas's offense left a lot of meat on the bone on potential scoring drives last weekend in the rivalry win on the road, 20-10, over the Arkansas Razorbacks.
If Ewers and the Texas offense can put up at least 28 points, I don't think Kentucky has enough weapons on offense to keep up with the Longhorns in this game. Texas's No. 1 ranked defensive unit in total and scoring defense in the SEC this season should also hamper a Kentucky offense that has already struggled to keep the chains moving in conference play.
Texas got good news on the injury-front before this game, with multiple key players on the two-deep being removed from the final SEC injury report update early this afternoon. The Longhorns will have sophomore wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr., senior linebacker Morice Blackwell Jr., and redshirt freshman edge rusher Colton Vasek available for this game vs. Kentucky.