How and what to watch for TCU vs. Texas

The No. 9 Texas Longhorns survived a thriller in their first Big 12 game of the season, and the TCU Horned Frogs will be going for their first win of 2020 on Saturday, Oct. 3.

If you like points, then you loved what you saw in the game between Texas and Texas Tech on Saturday, a 63-56 overtime win for the Longhorns. The Red Raiders took their first lead on the final play of the third quarter and led 56-41 with 3:13 to play before Texas rallied to tie it and win in overtime. Ehlinger threw for 10 touchdowns so far after the first two games of the season.

TCU opened its season with a 37-34 home loss to Iowa State on Saturday. Quarterback Max Duggan missed several weeks of practice with a heart issue but was cleared to play in this game. He entered the game early in the second half and performed fairly well. Duggan completed 16 of 19 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns. He threw one interception. Matthew Downing started the game and finished 11 of 21 for 159 yards and one touchdown. We’ll see who lines up under center on Saturday, but my hunch is Duggan.

TCU has won five of the last six games in this series, including 37-27 in 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

Saturday’s game will start at noon ET at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. This game will appear on FOX.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends

Point spread: TCU (+13.5) vs. Texas
Point Total: O/U 59.5 (-110)
Money line: TCU (+390), Texas (-530)

• TCU is 3-6 against the spread in its last nine games.
• The total went over in eight of TCU’s last 11 games.
• Texas is 4-2 against the spread in its last six games.
• The total went under in four of the last five games between Texas and TCU.

The Best Bet

Obviously if you’re backing TCU here, you’d love to have this number set at +14 to receive a two-touchdown and two-extra point head start. Even if it does not get to that high of a number later in the week, let’s still go with TCU covering the spread. Texas played up and down to its competition throughout its Big 12 schedule in 2019, beating just one team by more than 11 points. In their first conference game of 2020, the Longhorns struggled with a team that went 4-8 last season.

Pick: TCU +13.5

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