The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will look to pull off the huge upset when they hot the road to take on a Texas Longhorns team that has some legitimate Big 12 title hopes heading into 2019. With Texas looking to record consecutive double-digit winning seasons, let’s find out where the best value lies in this Week 1 matchup when it goes down live from Texas Memorial Field on Saturday.
Louisiana Tech vs Texas 2019 College Football Week 1 Odds, Preview & Pick
- When: Saturday August 31, 2019, 8:00 PM ET
- Where: Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium/Jamall Field, Austin, TX
- TV: Longhorn Network
- Live Stream: ESPN+
- College Football Week 1 Odds: Texas -20.5 / Total: 55
Weather Forecast
- Mostly Sunny: 36°C/97°F
- Humidity: 54%
- Precipitation: 10%
- Wind: 5 mph ESE
- Cloud Cover: 20%
- Type of Stadium: Open
Why Bet On Louisiana Tech at +20.5?
The Bulldogs are coming off an encouraging 8-5 mark and 5-3 mark in Conference USA play under head coach Skip Holtz in 2018. Louisiana Tech averaged a modest 24.7 points per game a year ago (97th) while allowing 23.0 points per game defensively (39th). Starting quarterback J’Mar Smith is back under center after throwing for 3,160 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, though he completed just 57.3 percent of his passes in 2018. Running back Jaquis Dancy is also back after rushing for a team-high 667 yards and nine scores last season while averaging a healthy 5.4 yards per carry and 10 of Louisiana Tech’s top 11 receivers are also back.
Defensively, the Bulldogs lost all-time the NCAA’s all-time sack leader in Jaylon Ferguson but they’ve got a sideline-to-sideline playmaker in linebacker Collin Scott after he racked up 87 tackles, 9.5 TFL and four sacks last season. Better yet, Louisiana Tech returns the core of their secondary including cornerback Amik Robertson who recorded four interceptions last season and safety James Jackson who racked up 73 tackles and 7.5 TFL last season.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 24.69
- Total Yards: 379.31
- Pass Yards: 249.54
- Rush Yards: 129.77
- Average Score Against: 23
- Total Yards: 341.31
- Pass Yards: 191.62
- Rush Yards: 149.69
Why Bet On Texas at -20.5?
The Longhorns will look to challenge for the Big 12 title after going 10-4 last season. Texas returns underrated dual-threat starting quarterback Sam Ehlinger after he passed for 3,292 yards with 25 touchdowns and just five interceptions while completing 64.7 percent of his passes. Running back Keaontay Ingram will lead the rushing attack after rushing for 708 yards and three scores while averaging a healthy 5.0 yards per carry and wide receiver Collin Johnson returns after recording 68 catches for 985 yards and seven touchdowns. The Horns averaged a decent 31.1 points per game to rank 47th in scoring.
Defensively, the Longhorns return just three starters from a unit that allowed 25.9 points per game (57th). Safety Brandon Jones returns as Texas’ top returning tackler with 70 tackles last season, but head coach Tom Herman will have his hands full in trying to turn this unit into a force in 2019.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 31.07
- Total Yards: 411.28
- Pass Yards: 258.21
- Rush Yards: 153.07
- Average Score Against: 25.86
- Total Yards: 393.65
- Pass Yards: 262.29
- Rush Yards: 131.36
Louisiana Tech vs Texas College Football Week 1 Betting Trends
- Louisiana Tech is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 games played in August
- Louisiana Tech is 11-5 SU in the last 16 games
- The total went UNDER in 6 of Louisiana Tech’s last 6 games
- Texas is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games played in August
- Texas is 4-1 SU in the last 5 games
- The total went UNDER in 4 of Texas’ last 5 games
Expert Analysis and Prediction for Louisiana Tech vs Texas
Louisiana Tech has gone 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against teams from the Big 12, but the Bulldogs have also gone 38-18 ATS in their last 56 road games. Texas is 5-2 ATS in their last seven non-conference games and 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 home games, but I don’t like the high, nearly, three-touchdown spread in this affair and I believe the Bulldogs have just enough talent to cover the chalk despite being on the road. I’m expecting Texas to be mediocre on defense, at least early on in 2019 and I like the way Skip Holtz has built his program with five straight winning seasons at Louisiana Tech. I like Louisiana Tech and the points, to narrowly cover the chalk in this one.
Pick: Texas 31 Louisiana Tech 17
