FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — History suggests Texas has been the recipient of brand bias over the years no matter its conference affiliation.

The Longhorns previously had their own television network and are consistently talked about on major sports networks whether good or bad. Texas’ brand brings views and there’s no denying that.

Now in the SEC, the newcomers were given a forgiving schedule for the Longhorns’ inaugural season. With the entrance of Texas and Oklahoma, the league mixed up its philosophy on building schedules based off member performances over the past decade.

Of course, Oklahoma had been dominant in the Big 12 with seven 10+ win seasons and four playoff appearances. The Sooners’ success from 2015-21 was gifted five ranked opponents including road games against Ole Miss, Auburn, Missouri and LSU while also playing Tennessee and Alabama.

Despite a singular playoff appearance last season and four losing seasons, the Longhorns benefitted from their struggles and in return received a much easier path to another deep postseason run. Texas has played five ranked opponents, but road games were rather winnable at Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.

According to Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, that fact still shouldn’t diminish a successful run despite the slate of games assigned. The Longhorns are a good team with a great coach whose roster is littered with potential NFL prospects who are in line to help Texas compete for its first national championship since the 2006 season.

“Oh, a lot of times critics don’t know what they’re talking about and I don’t think they know much what they’re talking about on this one either,” Pittman said. “This is a fine Texas team. I mean, you don’t go beat Oklahoma by 31, and beat Mississippi State by 22, and beat Michigan by 19, beat Colorado State 52-0 and have a sorry football team.

“These guys are ranked No. 3 in the country because they deserve it and they’re a really well-coached football team. Coach Sarkisian is one of the best in the business, there’s no question about it, and they’ve got talent. It’s not their fault that they haven’t played, let’s say, a schedule like ours. We played LSU and Ole Miss and A&M and Tennessee. The schedule is the schedule, and what they’ve done is done a fine job with their schedule and they’ve got a good football team.”

Style points still matter in college football when it comes to playoff access. The Longhorns have been dominant defensively this fall beating opponents by an average of 26 points while ranking near the top of every statistical category.

It’s no fault of Texas that when schedule were announced two years ago, most of its current opponents fielded programs with a pulse. Arkansas, Mississippi State, Florida and Kentucky were competing at a higher level, but that’s not the case now with the rapid development of NIL, transfer portal and college football landscape.

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Texas is on the road in SEC play now in pole position to go to the SEC Championship. 

However, the Longhorns will have a stiff test against a potent Arkansas team that is as healthy as its been in league play. Can the team look the part out of a BYE week and contend with the Texas offense? 

I’m eyeing both team’s passing games as my favorite ways to attack this game from a player prop perspective. Let’s get into them!

Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook

Taylen Green OVER 209.5 Passing Yards

Green has been battling a bone bruise on his leg, but is set to be fully recovered ahead of the team’s Week 12 matchup against Texas, who hasn’t been challenged whatsoever in the passing game this season. 

This will be the best offense the Longhorns have faced this season in terms of EPA/Play as the Hogs rank 15th in the country. The Razorbacks have been able to hit big plays through the air all season, and Green’s dual-threat ability is a big reason why. 

He has cleared this number in six of nine games this season, and given that the team is likely to be behind (the Hogs are a double digit underdog), I believe we see the team open up the playbook and scheme up some explosive pass plays out of the BYE week. 

Against a potent Texas offense, Arkansas will need to try and match them, which is why I like Green to get his passing yards in. 

Luke Hasz OVER 23.5 Receiving Yards

One of the premier tight ends heading into the season, Hasz has fallen out of the public eye amidst a quiet 2024 season. 

However, he has been trending up as the season has gone on, hauling in nine catches for 136 yards over the last two games. 

Given that I think this will be a pass-happy script from the Razorbacks, look for Hasz to be involved early and often and get over this number with relative ease. 

Isaiah Bond OVER 56.5 Receiving Yards

As noted from Reed ‘Em and Weep this week, this is a big matchup for Bond. 

The Razorbacks have a stout defensive line, but the secondary is a big issue and this can be a big outing for the now-healthy Isaiah Bond for Texas. I played over on his receiving yard prop of 56.5 yards given this matchup against a zone-oriented Arkansas defense, which has been where Bond has thrived. The Alabama transfer has averaged nearly three yards per route run and catching 79% of targets against zone coverage. 

Arkansas is outside the top 100 in EPA/Pass, so I imagine the Longhorns will take to the air and feed its now healthy top target for him to clear this mark. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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