2019 College Football Win Totals: Texas Tech, Baylor

by Matt Schmitto (schmitto) Last Updated 2019-07-01T12:11:45

After releasing win totals for select teams earlier this summer, FanDuel Sportsbook released the rest of their 2019 college football win totals Tuesday morning. The move makes FanDuel the first online sports betting site to release totals for every NCAA Division I team (minus Rutgers). 

In our first article we looked at 2019 College Football Win Totals for the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners. Be sure to click the link if you missed it, as one of the sides makes for one of our favorite preseason plays. 

We keep with the theme and bring you more college football betting tips by breaking down two more Big 12 rivals now that win totals are out for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Baylor Bears. 

Texas Tech Red Raiders — Over/Under 6.5, +2300 to Win Big 12

A new sheriff is in Lubbock, County after athletic director Kirby Hocutt parted ways with Kliff Kingsbury following his third straight losing season. When all was said and done, Kingsbury still ended up with a promotion as he takes his spread offense and pass-heavy scheme to the NFL to lead none other than Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. 

The new sheriff is less likely to be mistaken for Ryan Gosling, but is much more of a disciplinarian than Kingsbury, which will help a team who ranked 110th in penalties last year. Matt Wells moves to Lubbock after six seasons at Utah State where he helped lead them to two 10-win seasons.

While there are no longer direct roots from the Mike Leach coaching tree in Lubbock, that doesn’t mean you won’t see the Red and Black running a spread offense. West Texas fans are used to seeing the Red Raiders put up numbers, and Wells brings along offensive coordinator David Yost to do just that. Yost’s squad averaged an impressive 47.5 points per game in 2018, the second-highest clip in the country. His offense managed to score more points against Michigan State than any other team last season.

Sophomore quarterback Alan Bowman will continue to operate from the shotgun, albeit in a different fashion. Yost, who was actually the inside receivers coach for Mike Leach at Washington State before joining Wells, introduces a hybrid of the spread offense that made the Utah State Aggies one of the fastest-paced offenses in college football. The main difference between traditional spread offenses and Yost’s version is the emphasis on running the ball. The Aggies were only one of four teams to put up a top-20 passing attack and a top-35 rushing offense.

Texas Tech’s quarterback play should be much more consistent this year. While they lose Antoine Wesley as their main target, they return T.J. Vasher who has all the skills to be an NFL receiver. 

The Red Raiders’ toughest non-conference game is at Arizona against a team that went 5-7 under head coach Kevin Sumlin. Sumlin’s team should be much improved this year. Texas Tech is forced to travel to West Virginia, Oklahoma and Texas, making their conference schedule very difficult.

Texas Tech’s offense will continue to give teams fits, but with tough road trips, it’s more difficult to picture this team winning seven games than six. Additionally, it might be a good idea to grab West Virginia -2.5 as one of FanDuel’s Games of the Year before the number moves to a field goal.

Baylor Bears Over/Under 6.5 Wins, +2300 to Win Big 12

They Baylor Bears bounced back from a 1-11 season in 2017 to go 6-6 in the regular season while adding a bowl win in 2018. It was a huge jump in Matt Rhule’s second year, and gave hope to Baylor fans after controversy surrounding the football program led to Art Briles’ dismissal just a few a years ago. 

The Bears kickoff the season with a free space against Stephen F. Austin. They follow up with games against UTSA and Rice. Their three non-conference opponents combined for a 7-28 record last season. UTSA accounted for one of the Bears’ 11 losses in 2017, but they won’t be a match for Rhule’s squad in his third season with the team. 

Their conference schedule could be a blessing or a curse. Baylor hosts arguably the four best teams in the conference — Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa State and West Virginia. If Baylor is outmatched by these teams regardless of the venue, then they’ll have a difficult time winning seven games, as they make trips to Kansas State, Oklahoma State and TCU. The toughest stretch for the Bears is in November when they play TCU, Oklahoma and Texas. Ultimately, the Over or Under will likely be determined between by their performances against TCU and Texas.  

Unlike 2018, TCU is no longer a favorite to win the Big 12 heading into the season, but Gary Patterson has proven to get the most out of his teams even when expectations are low. In fact, the Horned Frogs beat Baylor last year despite battling multiple injuries and playing their third-string quarterback.

As for Texas, the Longhorns are coming off their best season in nearly a decade. Texas was tough, but Baylor still came close to winning on the road in Austin. With so much of Texas’ production gone, and with the game in Waco this time around, starting quarterback Charlie Brewer might have an easier time pulling off the upset against his family’s alma mater (his dad, brother and uncle all played for the Longhorns). 

This is a good number, but I think Baylor is trending upwards and bound to improve from last season.

Once again, if you’re looking for general NCAA betting tips, please refer to our College Football Betting Guide.