Texas has had a tough road lately, in every sense, because the Longhorns haven’t played a game in Austin since way back in Week 4, when they pounded Sam Houston.
Since then, Texas suffered an upset loss at Florida before things finally got better for a team that had grand expectations as the preseason No. 1 and with Arch Manning at the helm. Texas took down rival Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry in Dallas before walking the tightrope the following 2 games with road overtime victories over Kentucky and Mississippi State.
The Mississippi State thriller on Saturday night left the Longhorns at 6-2, and now in Week 10, finally back in Austin, 20th-ranked Texas has a huge challenge on its hands against 9th-ranked Vanderbilt. The Commodores are living large right now at 7-1, with quarterback Diego Pavia being one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy.
According to BetMGM, Texas is a 2.5-point favorite, with that home-field advantage that the Longhorns haven’t tasted in a while likely being the reason they’re a slight favorite.
The betting total for the noon ET kickoff on ABC is 45.5, and while Texas is only a slight favorite on the betting line, ESPN’s FPI is leaning heavily on the Longhorns to prevail and get to 7-2. FPI is giving Texas a 70.5% chance to cool off Vandy and finally give those home fans in Austin who haven’t watched them in a while a big-time treat on the first Saturday in November.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
