The Texas Longhorns and the Houston Cougars meet in week 8 college football action from TDECU Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Texas Loses Red River Rivalry

The Texas Longhorns come into this game off of their bye week, looking to get the bad taste out of their mouths following a 34-30 loss to Oklahoma in their last game for their first loss of the season, dropping to 5-1. Quinn Ewers has thrown for 1,704 yards, 11 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on 69.6% passing while Jonathon Brooks has a team-high 726 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns. Xavier Worthy leads Texas’ receiving group with 34 receptions for 453 yards and 3 TDs while Adonai Mitchell has 25 receptions for 354 yards and a team-high 4 touchdowns. Two more Longhorns have 250+ receiving yards on the year and another three have 100+ receiving yards. On defense, Jaylan Ford has a team-high 40 total tackles and a pair of interceptions while Jerrin Thompson also has a pair of INTs and Anthony Hill Jr. has a team-high 3 sacks. As a unit, Texas’ defense has combined for 14 sacks and 6 interceptions this season.

Texas Longhorns Team Facts

• Texas has won each of its last eight games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Texas has covered the spread in five of its last six matches as a favorite when playing with a rest advantage.
• Texas has won the first half in 18 of its last 24 games against conference opponents.
• Texas has won the first quarter in four of its last five games against conference opponents.
• Each of Texas’ last five October games against non-AP-ranked teams have gone UNDER the total points line.

Houston Wins Thriller Vs. WVU

The Houston Cougars come into this game off of a thrilling last-second 41-39 win over West Virginia in their last game. Donovan Smith has thrown for 1,600 yards, 13 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on 66.2% passing while Parker Jenkins leads Houston with 242 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Stacy Sneed also has 206 rushing yards and the aforementioned Smith has 197 rushing yards with 4 scores. Samuel Brown leads Houston’s receiving group with 37 grabs for 549 yards while Joseph Manjack IV has 29 receptions for 347 yards with 3 TDs and Matthew Golden has 295 receiving yards with 4 touchdowns. On defense, Malik Robinson has posted a team-high 4.5 sacks while Malik Fleming and Isaiah Hamilton each have a team-high 3 interceptions.

Houston Cougars Team Facts

• Houston has won each of its last eight games in October.
• Houston has covered the spread in nine of its last 10 matches as an underdog when playing with a rest disadvantage.
• Seven of Houston’s last eight games against AP-ranked teams at TDECU Stadium have gone OVER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• Texas rank T16th among FBS teams for points allowed per game this season (16.3).
• Texas rank T29th among FBS teams for points per game this season (35.0).

Chris’ Pick

I get the case to be made for Houston here, this is a huge number for a Houston team with some confidence after winning their first conference game. However, that screams letdown for me in this game after such a dramatic victory and now while you get a chance at a national contender if you’re Houston, the other way to look at it is that you’re facing a Texas team off of their first loss looking to make a statement in a bounce back performance, and unfortunately I think that’s going to come at Houston’s expense. The Cougars have struggled defensively against less this season, and I think this is going to be all Longhorns here. Give me Texas in a rout.