Does any sports do "rivalry" games better
than college football...the Red Sox and Yankees might have a say, and Duke-North
Carolina in college hoops...but there is something magical about these big
rivalry games in the fall that, to me, anyway, supersede the others.
A prime example is on display this weekend
at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, when the 2009 edition of the Red River Rivalry
kicks off.
The No. 3 Texas Longhorns take on the No.
20 Oklahoma Sooners this Saturday in what is still a game with National Title
implications.
Online
sportsbooks have installed the ‘Horns as field goal favorites, with the
Over/Under set at 51.5.
These two have been at it forever, with
Texas boasting 58-40-5 edge overall, and they are 45-36-4 since 1914 when the
game venue switched to Dallas.
Betting
Trends:
The two are much more evenly matched in the
last 13 games however with Texas going 6-7 SU and 7-6 ATS.
In the Longhorns' last eight games when
favored by 4-points or less, they are 6-2 SU and 5-2-1 ATS and in their nine
with the same range, they have produced 7 Overs and 2 Unders.
Oklahoma has thrived when +4 or less going
8-3 SU and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 in that situation
And here's another interesting stat:
Since 2000, the winner of the Red River
Rivalry game has gone on to participate in the BCS championship game four times
(2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005).
And last year, Texas
won the rivalry game but Oklahoma
went on to play in the BCS title game.
Sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.com currently has the
Longhorns are listed at +400 to win this year's national championship.
Another rivalry game this weekend, although
certainly not on the historical scale of the Red River, is between the Notre
Dame Fighting Irish and the USC Trojans. After a cooling off period due to the
Trojans dominance, this year's matchup has some real heat around it.
The two meet in South Bend on Saturday and the Trojans are
10-point faves with an Over/Under of 48.5.
While ND leads the all-time series 42-33-5,
it is the Trojans who have the edge recently, going 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS in the
last eight meetings between the two.
In the last 11 games as an underdog of
8-points or more, the Irish have not been lucky at all going 1-10 SU and 3-8
ATS.
But this year, the anticipation on campus
in South Bend is off the charts, as Jimmy Clausen and the Irish have a
legitimate shot at the upset win.
Should be a great weekend of college
betting action.
