Oddsmaker slots Texas as 20-point favorites in opener against Louisiana Tech

On Sunday, oddsmaker BetOnline.AG released point spreads for every college football game in Week 1 of the 2019 season, slotting the Texas Longhorns as 20-point favorites over the visiting Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

Set to kick off on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. Central on Longhorn Network, the game will set the early narrative about whether Texas can build on its 10-win season and Sugar Bowl win over Georgia. The expectation is clearly for a comfortable victory by the Longhorns. At least the opponent isn’t Maryland, right?

So far, the results are mixed in these type of non-conference games under head coach Tom Herman — last season, Texas only beat Tulsa by a single touchdown before the Golden Hurricane fell apart due to injuries and mistakes. However, Herman’s first team did take care of business against an awful San Jose State team in 2017, stomping the Spartans in a 56-0 victory. And, of course, the Longhorns opened the last two seasons with disappointing losses to the Terrapins.

Louisiana Tech went 8-5 last season and finished fourth in the West Division with a 5-3 conference record under seventh-year head coach Skip Holtz, who boasts a 46-33 record in Ruston. So consider this program much closer to Tulsa than San Jose State, with a strong likelihood it will be better this season than the Golden Hurricane were last season.

The season-opening contest will mark the first meeting between the two programs.

For more on the Bulldogs, check out the preview by Anthony Rizzo and the Longhorn Republic podcast breaking down Louisiana Tech.