Texas vs. OU: Final odds and prediction

For the first time since 2017, No. 1 Texas football and the No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners will kickoff the Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas in the afternoon slot. Texas fans didn't have to be up early to prepare for the Red River Rivalry game kickoff in the usual 11 a.m. CT window, as it's been for the past half-decade or so.

In a hot afternoon day in the bright Texas sun and heat in Dallas on Oct. 12, head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns are looking to get an ultra-important rivalry win over the Sooners and head coach Brent Venables.

Sarkisian is 1-2 in the Red River Rivalry game against Oklahoma since 2021. This does feel like something of a "must-win" rivalry game in terms of its importance for Sarkisian and the Longhorns this weekend.

Texas got good news this week when Sarkisian announced on Thursday that redshirt junior quarterback Quinn Ewers will get the start against OU. Ewers missed the last two starts due to an abdominal injury he suffered in Week 3 against the UTSA Roadrunners early in the second quarter.

Here's a look at the final betting odds and game prediction for the Red River Rivalry game between No. 1 Texas and No. 18 Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl at the Texas State Fairgrounds in Dallas, TX, on Oct. 12 at 2:30 p.m. CT.

Texas football vs. OU odds

Texas is a 16.5-point favorite against Oklahoma roughly one hour before kickoff in Week 7. And the Longhorns are favored in the money line (-880) over the Sooners (+580), per FanDuel. The over/under is 48.5 points.

This is a pretty big move in the pre-game betting odds, as the spread moved two points in Texas's favor after Sarkisian's squad was favored by 14.5 points just 24 hours ago. Texas also opened up as a two-score favorite for Red River this week, and is now a three-score favorite in the pre-game betting odds for the first time in well over a decade in this rivalry game against the Sooners.

Texas football vs. OU prediction

Between Sarkisian and the Longhorns getting Ewers back at QB this weekend, and the Sooners being decimated in the receiving corps by injuries, Texas's offense holds a big edge in Red River today at the Cotton Bowl.

But you can throw logic out the window in Red River so many times, even when one team is heavily favored over the other. This game could still come down to one or two possessions in the fourth quarter, thanks to Oklahoma's ball-hawking defense and the offense getting a spark thanks to the dynamic dual-threat true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins.

Final score prediction: Texas-34, OU-23

Check out our latest Texas football articles on Hook'em Headlines