Texas Football: Las Vegas releases early point spreads for 5 games on Longhorns schedule

Head coach Steve Sarkisian is going to be under pressure to win this year after a disappointing 5-7 in his inaugural season in Austin. Texas is seemingly always on the verge of breaking through and getting back to what it once was but previous years have come up short of expectations.

Even though the calendar only reads July, Las Vegas expects some key wins for the Longhorns this season.

Sportsbooks released early point spreads for five Texas games this season, with the major one being the nonconference showdown against Alabama. While the Longhorns are considered underdogs there, Sarkisian’s squad are favorites in the other four matchups, including against Oklahoma in the annual rivalry matchup.

Here’s all the early game spread for Texas.

• Alabama (-15) at Texas
• West Virginia at Texas (-10.5)
• Texas (-1) vs. Oklahoma (Dallas, TX)
• Texas (-1) at Oklahoma State
• Baylor at Texas (-5.5)

More on the five matchups for Texas

Against the Big 12 foes listed, Texas went 0-4 against them last season by an average of 7.5 points per loss. All came in the midst of a six-game losing streak under Sarkisian, continually losing closer game after close game. Las Vegas is still expecting a few one-score outcomes this season for the Longhorns but this time, they will be on the winning side.

Familiar faces will be on the sidelines when conference play gets started except when Texas travels up I-35 to the Cotton Bowl to face Oklahoma. Head coach Brent Venables is entering his first season with the program and will be looking to set the tone in the rivalry. With Venables having a defensive background and Sarkisian being a top offensive mind in college football, it makes up for an exciting matchup on Oct. 8.

As for Alabama, the two will be meeting for the first time since the 2009 national championship, where Nick Saban began his dynasty run. He will be facing off against another former assistant, with Steve Sarkisian serving as an analyst in 2016 and then the offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020.

Oklahoma State is the only road game on the list and the Longhorns still find themselves favored. As a program, Texas has been able to come into Stillwater and still pull off victories. Three out of the last five at Boone Pickens Stadium have gone in favor of Texas but none with Sarkisian as the headman. He will face the tough task for the first time this year.