Cowboy win in Austin would make things interesting

42-29. That's what Vegas and odds makers around the globe say the score will be in Austin when red-hot No. 1 ranked Texas plays hosts red-hot No. 7 OSU.

Friday, October 24th 2008, 9:22 am

By: News 9


42-29. That's what Vegas and odds makers around the globe say the score will be in Austin when red-hot No. 1 ranked Texas plays hosts red-hot No. 7 OSU.

I know it's hard to do the math and come up with that one. Here's the logic: Texas is favored by 12 ½-13 points. The over/under (expected number of total points scored) is 70-71. They don't add touchdowns and field goals when they do their arithmetic. They just come up with numbers that they believe will bring the same number of dollars in from bettors for both sides.

As we are wont to say, they don't have all those lights and glitz and glitter. Most of the time they are pretty good at what they do.

But I don't have a clue on this one and anyone who claims with certainity they do is lying through their dentures.

Is Texas that good? A lot of football people say not really. How can an under-.500 program under Mike Gundy take his team and win in front of 98,000 "electric" fans? Try on some Missouri, where even though Texas humbled them in front of the world, they are pretty stinkin' good at home. And Gundy's guys embarrassed and beat the britches off the cocky little QB in Columbia.

OSU will need another fast start. I'm not talking the one they've gotten this season when they pounced on mostly overwhelmed competition and were able to tee-off on a come-from-behind QB and able to comfortably achieve balance.

I'm talking more like the one that has pounced on the national title ‘Horns and one last season. If that happens, my guess is this time they won't give it back on a silver platter.

This team is better. More deep. More difference-makers. More confident. Better coached. Mentally tougher. Plus, what are the odds this Texas team can spot an unbeaten team huge numbers and rally for a third time? Go figure. I can't. I'm still batting .500 for life on picking against the line-again, this one has OSU a 12 ½ point underdog. But this is one time Cowboys are not concerned with staying within 12 points. This is a time to savor the national pub, trot out at DKR Stadium and prove they belong.

If they do-and I wouldn't bet against it-they can win and then start to talk Big 12 Championship. If not, then it's time to join their hated brethren in Norman and hope against hope that Texas stumbles. And that's one I wouldn't bet on.

A win and we've got a tie-breaker scenario. That's IF...and a BIG IF...their hated brethren to the south-OU AND Texas-find a way to put together a string of wins.

Of course that would set up the biggest Bedlam game since Barry Switzer's Sooners skated past Pat Jones and his C'Boys in the Ice Bowl. Maybe bigger.

And if the Sooners, who'd come in somewhere around a five to seven point favorite, find a way to win in Stillwater, the tie-breaker will take someone as smart as David Boren and T Boone combined to figure out who goes to KC and meet Mizzou or Kansas.

I never liked math. But this might be fun. And it might come down to which team is ranked highest in the BCS.

Under that scenario, OSU would be the odd man out and it could come down to whether OU or Texas is the highest ranked in the BCS.

OSU is not interested in that right now. A win puts them in position to tell the math majors to take a break and watch them play it out and make it simple.

I'll take Texas in a tight one. On second thought....

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