In what’s probably the underrated matchup of the opening weekend of college football, the Texas Longhorns host the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns at Darrel K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas on Saturday, September 4.
The Ragin’ Cajuns are 21-4 over the last two seasons, while the Longhorns are entering the first year of the Steve Sarkisian era. Will we be asking ourselves if Texas is back after the home opener? Read our Louisiana vs. Texas picks and predictions to find out.
Louisiana vs Texas game info
• Location: Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX
• Date: Saturday, September 4, 2021
• Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
• TV: FOX
Louisiana vs Texas odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Compare college football odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Check out the full line movement for this game
If you're signing up for a new sportsbook for college football Week 1, here are two of the best welcome bonuses available:
USA: Risk-free bet up to $5,000 at Caesars. Claim Now.
Canada: 100% matched free bet up to $400 at BetVictor. Claim Now.
Louisiana vs Texas betting preview
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NCAA football weather info.
Key injuries
Louisiana: DL Andre Landry (out)
Texas: TE Brayden Liebrock (out), WR Troy Omeire (out), WR Jaden Alexis (out)
Find our latest NCAA football injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Ragin’ Cajuns are 5-1 in their last six games as road underdogs. Find more NCAA betting trends for Louisiana vs. Texas.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
Since becoming the starting quarterback at Louisiana, Levi Lewis has put together a 24-4 record. Last season, he threw for 2,274 yards with 19 touchdowns and added another 335 yards and five scores on the ground. The Ragin’ Cajuns will need more from him this season, as star running back Elijah Mitchell is now on the San Francisco 49ers. However, Lewis should be up for the challenge, as he is one of the better dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation.
Lewis is facing a Longhorns defense that gave up 30 or more points in five of its 10 games a year ago. Sure, Texas has a new coaching staff in place, but it’s going to take more than just one year for Pete Kwiatkowski, Sarkisian’s hand-picked defensive coordinator, to turn this unit around. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine Louisiana not finding some success offensively in this game. Also, for as good of a coach as Sarkisian might be, Billy Napier has been a revelation for the Ragin’ Cajuns and he’s capable of getting his team prepared for any matchup.
Defensively, Louisiana returns 11 starters from a defense that ranked 31st in the nation in scoring defense in 2020, allowing just 22.0 points per game. The passing defense was particularly strong, as the Ragin’ Cajuns allowed only 170.6 yards per game — good for sixth in the nation.
It’s obviously helpful that Louisiana got to face Sun Belt competition all year, but Texas’ quarterback situation isn’t all that great right now. A lot of people had very high hopes for Casey Thompson coming into the season, but he was unable to beat out freshman Hudson Card for the job. Unless it was simply because of how awesome Card was in the spring, that’s not a great sign for how things are going. Whichever one ends up starting this game will be under a lot of pressure in front of a sometimes-restless crowd, and this stout secondary will only make things tougher.
Overall, the Longhorns are still likely to escape with a win, as there’s a major mismatch when it comes to straight-up talent on the field — and star running back Bijan Robinson should run wild for Texas. But asking this Longhorns team to win by more than a touchdown is a tough ask. This should be a close game throughout.
PREDICTION: Louisiana +9.5 (-110)
Over/Under pick
Under Napier, the Under has hit in six of the 10 games in which Louisiana has played as a road underdog. Don’t expect that to change in this one, as Napier knows that his best chance of winning this game is by controlling the clock and really having his guys focused on the defensive side of the ball.
Sarkisian is an absolute master at getting his players in motion before the snap, which is why his offenses tend to confuse so many people. But Napier has seen it all and shouldn’t be fooled in this one. He’s an excellent head coach and this is too long for him to get his team prepared for one single game.
Also, with Robinson being the star of the show for the Longhorns, that means that Texas will also be putting the ball on the ground pretty often in this game. That also plays nicely into the hands of Under bettors, as the clock will run if these teams are both running the ball well.
PREDICTION: Under 58.5 (-110)
Louisiana vs Texas betting card
- Louisiana +9.5 (-110)
- Under 58.5 (-110)
Picks made on 09/02/2021 at 9:45 p.m. ET
Did you know that if you parlayed today’s Louisiana vs. Texas picks, you could win $26.45 on a $10 bet?
Use our NCAA parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.
Where can I bet on college football odds?
You can bet on college football odds at every online and casino sportsbook, including NCAA moneylines, spreads, Over/Under totals, and a ton of college football prop odds. Head over to our best football betting sites for the top spots to bet on college football odds in your area.
