College football best bets for Week 7: Why an 0-5 team should be on your bet slip

3 weeks ago 4

Pamela MaldonadoOct 9, 2025, 06:35 AM ET
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Sometimes the champion bets aren't the beauteous ones. They're the ones that marque you cringe, laughter and question each beingness prime arsenic you hover implicit the "submit" button.

Week 7 of assemblage shot is precisely that benignant of card. We've got a matchup truthful disfigured you'll privation to lavation your hands aft speechmaking it, an nether that promises a four-quarter sweat and a squad full that feels similar a trap but mightiness conscionable beryllium a gift.

This isn't the glamorous broadside of betting, but it's wherever the crisp edges live. We've taken a fewer punches from the variance gods this season, but we're swinging close backmost this week. Down but ne'er out.

All likelihood by ESPN BET

Oklahoma astatine Texas

Pick: UNDER 43.5

This full is debased for a reason. Both teams are built to triumph with defense, and Oklahoma's mightiness beryllium the champion portion connected the field. The Sooners amusement up wherever it matters most, top-tier against some the tally and pass, allowing conscionable 3 touchdowns each season. Even successful the reddish zone, opponents are 2-for-7 uncovering the extremity zone.

The unit conflict is besides going to determine a batch here. Both fronts tin get aft the quarterback, but OU's is much disruptive and much accordant astatine collapsing pockets. That matters against Texas QB Arch Manning, who's been a antithetic subordinate erstwhile things interruption down. He's already taken 9 sacks and helium scrambled six times against Florida alone.

In 4 of his 5 starts, he's held the shot for 3 seconds oregon much (3.32 average), which gives defenses plentifulness of clip to get location and that's a occupation against a beforehand similar this.

That's wherever drives commencement stalling retired and explosive options disappear. If Texas is going to win, it's astir apt by leaning connected the run, slowing this crippled down, piecing unneurotic 10-, 12- and 14-play drives, which lone helps an nether ticket.

Both defenses are large astatine forcing agelong fields and keeping touchdowns disconnected the board, truthful points are going to beryllium earned the hard way. With OU's red-zone absorption and Texas' third-down struggles, this sets up similar an old-school tug-of-war wherever getting to 40 mightiness beryllium a stretch.