The Texas Longhorns head into Baton Rouge with something they haven’t carried into a game yet this season: underdog status.
That alone says plenty about how Saturday night is being framed. Texas opened as a three-point favorite, per VegasInsider, but the market shifted fast.
DraftKings moved LSU to a four-point favorite, while FanDuel had the Tigers laying 3 ½ points as of Thursday. For the first time this year, Texas will walk into a game without the betting edge.
Steve Sarkisian probably doesn’t need the line to tell him what’s coming. He knows his team is once again being questioned, and this one comes in what is widely viewed as one of the hardest places to play in college football.
Tiger Stadium at night is no soft landing. Neither is an LSU team that has dropped three games and slipped in the rankings, even if the Tigers are only the eighth-highest ranked SEC team in this week’s College Football Playoff order.
The numbers still make LSU dangerous. The Tigers lead the SEC in offensive yards per game and in fewest yards allowed per game, which is a strange combination for a team sitting where it sits.
But that’s the point: this is not a team that can be dismissed because of the record. LSU can beat you with its offense or its defense, and a desperate team in November is a different kind of problem.
Texas, though, has already spent plenty of this season dealing with pressure on the road. Last week in Columbia, Missouri, the Longhorns absorbed punches, answered them, and kept finding a way.
They tied the game four times before putting away Missouri with two straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter and winning 34-20. The result kept Texas unbeaten against ranked opponents this season.
Sarkisian made it clear afterward what he thought that win said about his group.
“Nobody believed we’d win the game,” Sarkisian said postgame last week. “Everyone thought we’d get pushed around.
The DNA of this organization is mental and physical toughness. I think that poured out of our pores today in this ball game today.
I am very proud of (my players) for that. I am very proud that they hung together, the way they responded to adversity.”
That kind of response has helped build the identity Sarkisian likes to use for this team. He called the Longhorns “big-game hunters,” and the results back him up. Texas is 12-3 against ranked teams during the regular season since joining the SEC, and 5-2 in those games on the road.
The committee has noticed, too. Despite the losses to Florida and Oklahoma, Texas remains firmly in the 12-team playoff picture.
The Longhorns have enough quality wins to keep themselves afloat, and they’ve done it by beating teams in places that are hard to win. They are the only team to have won at Missouri this season, and the only team to beat Tennessee at Neyland Stadium.
“We have a belief around here that we do play well in big games and games that matter late in the season,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve been in a lot of them, and so I do think there’s a sense of confidence. Now we have to go do that.”
That’s the challenge now. Texas has had its highs and lows over the last three months, and the doubts around the program won’t disappear just because it survived Missouri. Baton Rouge will test whether the Longhorns can keep living up to the identity they’ve claimed for themselves.
They’ve found ways to survive before, even when the football hasn’t been clean, pretty, or drama-free. A win is a win, even one that comes with a forward fumble on first down.
And if Texas can pull this one off Saturday night, it would go a long way toward locking up its postseason place while putting a messy October stretch in the rearview mirror for good.
In Other News...
Texas May Be Getting Healthier Right Before Its Toughest Test Yet
Texas is heading into its matchup with LSU with some encouraging health news at just the right time. Several key starters are trending back into the mix, giving the Longhorns a better chance to be close to full strength for one of the biggest tests on their schedule. Defensive lineman Hero Kanu is still listed as questionable, but he is expected to play despite dealing with a partial bicep tear.
The rest of the injury picture also looks cleaner for Texas, with cornerbacks Kade Phillips and Graceson Littleton, defensive end Colin Simmons, and wide receivers Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo not listed with injuries for the game. For a team about to face an LSU offense that can punish any weakness, getting healthier across both sides of the ball matters almost as much as the opponent itself. The only real question now is how close to full speed Texas can be when the lights come on. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Just Got An Early Test Without Madison Booker
Texas got a clear look at how deep its womens basketball roster can be in a 93-63 win over South Dakota State, but the bigger concern came when senior forward Madison Booker left with a lower back injury and did not return. The Longhorns still rolled behind sophomore guard Jayda Clark, who led the way with 24 points, and the performance offered an early glimpse of how the offense can hold up when one of its most important players is sidelined.
Vic Schaefer has leaned on Bookers toughness before, and this was the kind of early-season moment that can test a teams depth before the schedule gets any heavier. The encouraging part for Texas was the way its freshmen continued to develop while the game stayed in hand, giving the Longhorns something to build on even as they wait to learn more about Bookers status. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Heads To LSU With One New Reason For Concern
Texas heads into Saturday nights showdown at LSU with plenty on the line, and not much margin for error. The Longhorns have the better record and the kind of momentum that usually travels well, but this one comes with College Football Playoff implications and a hostile setting that will test every part of their profile. ESPNs Football Power Index adds a little more intrigue, giving LSU a slight edge in what figures to be a tight game.
For Texas, that kind of projection is hardly a deal-breaker, but it is another reminder that the road ahead is still full of questions. A win in Baton Rouge would strengthen the Longhorns case in a major way, while a loss could complicate the path they have built so carefully. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC, and it is the sort of matchup where every possession can reshape the conversation. [Read more 🡒]