It’s an in-state showdown between the Texas Longhorns (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) and TCU Horned Frogs (2-2, 0-0) at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. Kickoff is set for Saturday at noon ET. Below, we look at the Texas at TCU odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
The Texas offense has been rolling with the exception of its Week 2 loss to now-No. 11 Arkansas. QB Casey Thompson has taken over the offense the last two games with great success (11.4 yards per attempt, 7/2 TD/INT ratio), while star RB Bijan Robinson leads a Longhorn rushing attack that ranks top 10 in yards per game this year.
Texas’ running game poses a major threat to a TCU defense, which has given up 181.3 rushing yards per game (99th in the nation). The Longhorns’ top-30 offense (6.9 yards per play) has scored 34+ points in every game thanks to RB Zach Evans averaging 7.9 yards per carry. The Horned Frogs are coming off a 42-34 loss to SMU last week as an 8-point favorites.
Texas at TCU odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 5:36 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Texas -210 (bet $210 to win $100) | TCU +170 (bet $100 to win $170)
- Against the spread (ATS): Texas -5.5 (-110) | TCU +5.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 65.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Texas at TCU odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Texas 41, TCU 31
Money line
TCU has dominated this series lately, winning six of the last seven games. There’s nothing the Horned Frogs faithful would like more than to see another win or two before Texas heads to the SEC.
But Texas has been the much better team this year. We’ll PASS on the money line and look to target the Longhorns against the number for a better payout.
Against the spread
Texas is 3-1 against the spread and has blown the number away in each of its last two games (58-0 as a 26-point favorite vs. Rice and 70-35 as a 9-point favorite vs. Texas Tech).
TCU has yet to cover in any of its first three games.
Look for TEXAS -5.5 (-110) to buck this series’ recent trend, put up a bunch of points and win by more than a touchdown.
Over/Under
History might lead you to the Under here as the last nine games between these two have all been below 65.5. That was when TCU fielded a stout defense and Texas couldn’t score nearly as much as it has been in 2021.
The combination of Texas’ high-octane offense with TCU’s uncharacteristically poor defense makes this ripe for OVER 65.5 (-105).
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