College Football Picks Week 6: Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns

The No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners (4-0) and No. 11 Texas Longhorns (4-0) are set to meet for the 106th time in the Red River Rivalry Saturday afternoon inside the Cotton Bowl.

Kickoff from Dallas is scheduled to take place at 12:00 EDT and will be nationally televised on ABC.

ESPN College GameDay will be on hand to cover the Big 12 Conference's fiercest rivalry for the fifth time.

Las Vegas sports books are seeing early action come in on the favored Oklahoma Sooners, moving the line to 10 in some places, while the total has been stationary at 56.5.

Let's take a look at one of college football's biggest games this week from a betting perspective.

Texas Longhorns Enter with Revenge in Mind

The Texas Longhorns are on a mission after a dismal 2010 campaign and have already gained revenge from two losses from a year ago.

Both of the wins over Iowa State (37-14) and UCLA (49-20) crushed the Las Vegas line, covering by an incredible 14.5 and 25.5 points, respectively.

This is, without question, a very interesting line.

Texas has been playing as favorites in the first four games this season, only to be opened up as nearly a double-digit underdog.

That's a lot of points, but is it for a reason?

We'll find out on Saturday.

Oklahoma Sooners Are in the Driver's Seat

The Oklahoma Sooners have fallen two spots in the AP Top 25 poll the last couple weeks, but coach Bob Stoops can use it as a motivational tool the rest of the year.

It's likely that the Alabama Crimson Tide or LSU Tigers will be the No. 1 team in the country heading into the bowl season, as one team will be eliminated in their meeting in November.

Oklahoma doesn't have the pressure of being the top dog, but still needs to keep the foot on the gas.

The Sooners need the big names in the conference to continue winning, especially the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who they will meet to close the season.

Two justifiable threats remain if the team runs the table to reach the BCS Championship Game—Stanford and Wisconsin.

In my opinion, the Sooners are in a perfect spot, similar to a horse sitting just off the pace.

Let the front runners burn each other out and hit the wire first when it matters most.

Playing as Ranked Teams

Before jumping on the Texas Longhorns as a double-digit underdog that's ranked 10th in the country, let's take a look back at a line from last week.

The Wisconsin Badgers were sent out as 9.5-point home favorites over the Nebraska Cornhuskers, but the two teams were just a spot away from each other in the AP Top 25 poll at kickoff.

Result: Wisconsin 48, Nebraska 17

One major difference in that contest was one team had home-field advantage, but you get the picture.

Oklahoma has played a tougher schedule, while Texas covered its only opportunity as a double-digit underdog (+12) in this series in the last 10 years, dropping a 28-21 decision in 2007.

Texas is 14-17-3 in this series when both teams are ranked, but 5-15-2 when coming in as the lower-rated teams.

The question you have to ask yourself is:  Are the Longhorns to attractive to bet at this price?

If you've answered yes, you better get down on the other side.

Ryan Broyles and Landry Jones

Experience at key positions is huge in this rivalry, especially when one side has arguably the two best players at their respective positions in the Big 12 Conference.

Quarterback Landry Jones connected on 24-of-39 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns in last year's win while hitting Ryan Broyles five times for 36 yards.

What's significant in that is that Broyles average an NCAA-high 9.4 receptions per game a season ago, which means the Longhorns limited his production.

I don't think they can do that again due to the emergence of wideout Kenny Stills on the other side, who was the team's leading receiver in Dallas last year.

Jones will be making his third appearance (second start) in this series, which is a huge edge when handicapping this contest.

Texas Longhorns QB Duo

I'm not sure that the quarterback competition between David Ash and Case McCoy is going to work out in this type of environment.

Sure, it causes Oklahoma to prepare for two different options under center, but it also causes for uncertainty offensively over the course of the game.

It's worked so far, but Oklahoma is a massive step up in class from the team's first four opponents.

Maybe Colt can fit into his brother's uniform for a Saturday afternoon?

Prediction

In my opinion, this year's installment of the Red River Rivalry reminds me a lot of the 2003 meeting, which resulted in a 65-13 Oklahoma Sooners win as 6.5-point favorites.

Head coach Bob Stoops wanted a balanced offense to take the pressure off Landry Jones this offseason, resulting in 168 passing attempts and 162 rushing attempts through four games.

On the defensive side of the ball, Oklahoma has been very good, especially against the pass.  Opposing quarterbacks are completing just 50 percent of their passes.

I don't see a Cedric Benson or Ricky Williams on the other sideline to take the pressure off of the young quarterbacks.

By no means should you get carried away in backing the Sooners, but they are my pick to come away with the cash on Saturday.