Texas Longhorns at Nebraska Cornhuskers
Saturday, 10/16/10, 3:30 PM EDT, TV: ABC
Opening Point Spread: Nebraska -8.5
Current Betting Line: Nebraska -9.5
Opening Total: 47
Current Total: 46
Current Moneyline: Nebraska -360 / Texas +300
Texas is set to take on its second straight Top 10 opponent when it travels to Lincoln to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. “I think they’re as good as anybody in the country right now and have a chance to win all their games and play for a national championship,” said head coach Mack Brown. “They were super on defense last year and everybody knew that, but they didn’t have the explosive plays on offense, and now they have that.” The Longhorns have dominated this series with wins in eight of the last nine meetings and a 12-10 victory in the Big 12 Championship Game last year. The team has been dealt back-to-back losses to UCLA and Oklahoma and sit out of the rankings for the first time since 2000. Brown has never lost three games in a row in Austin, as the team last did it in 1997, the year before his arrival. Texas is 1-4 ATS this year and the total is 2-3 Over/Under in those contests.
The Longhorns have had great success following regular-season bye weeks in recent years, posting a 15-4 mark since Brown took over as head coach in 1998. If you include the bowl games, the team has posted a 23-8 record over that span with at least a week of rest. Several Texas players took advantage of the bye week to get away from the two-game losing streak, including quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who went golfing several times with his father. The Longhorns are also an imposing 63-22 away from home over the last 13 years and have the nation’s best mark away from home since 1999. All eyes will certainly be on the offensive line in this contest, as they were dominated by the Cornhuskers last year, but many attribute that to NFL rookie Ndamukong Suh. The line lost three multi-year starters from a year ago, but the squad actually outgained Oklahoma 373-360 in its last game.
Nebraska returns to Lincoln for its Big 12 home opener and is focused on gaining revenge over last year’s championship loss. “What motivations there are, as far as the fans are concerned, you can chuck those out the window when it’s time to line up and play,” said head coach Bo Pelini about the revenge factor. “My only concern is Texas and what we have to do today to win the next football game.” The Cornhuskers trail 4-9 in the all-time series and 1-8 since the formation of the conference in 1996. The team has actually dropped all three meetings in Lincoln since 1998, with all three losses coming by a total of nine points. Nebraska is 9-9 ATS versus Big 12 competition and the total is 9-9 Over/Under.
The Huskers are led offensively by freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez, who carried the ball 15 times for 241 yards in a 48-13 road win over Kansas State. He accounted for a Nebraska freshman record 369 yards of total offense and the team rushed for 451 yards as a team combined. On the other side of the ball, the stop unit allowed just 13 points versus the Wildcats and has held 13-straight opponents to 21 or fewer points, which is the longest streak in the nation.
Bettors will have an interest in playing the Longhorns due to their 6-2 ATS mark as an underdog, but the team is just 10-11 ATS when getting 3.5 to 10 points. Nebraska is a dominating 19-3-1 ATS in its last 23 home games versus a team with a winning road record.
Maddux Sports has crushed the bookmakers this season, on Saturday we have our college football game of the year going and it should be an easy winner. Visiting our college football betting picks page of the site will help make your Saturday a profitable one.
