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Bookmaker.com, the oldest established online sportsbook in the world since 1986, has placed odds of -9 ½ for Texas to win the 2009 Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State January 2.
These two teams have played each other only twice with the away team winning both times. Ohio State has won once and lost by only 3 ½ points the other game.
Don't be fooled by the lack of respect for the Buckyes. They only lost two games this season compared to the Longhorns one loss.
While the Longhorns are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. Big Ten, Ohio State is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games.
The Longhorns are also 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS win.
Mack Brown believes his third-ranked Texas Longhorns deserved a shot at the national title.
Now that they'll get a shot at No. 10 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, Brown looked on the bright side.
"It's time for us to put the past week behind us with all the BCS stuff and move forward and look forward to a great game," Brown said on a teleconference.
The question is, will Texas-Ohio State be a great game?
In each of the last two seasons, the Buckeyes have been outclassed in the Bowl Championship Series title game, losing to Southeastern Conference powers Florida and Louisiana State.
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel called the Longhorns (11-1) "every bit as good as those teams we played the last two years."
The Longhorns finished in a three-way tie atop the rugged Big 12 South and thought their 10-point victory over Oklahoma should have earned them the nod over the Sooners. But Oklahoma was declared the division winner on a BCS standings tiebreaker, and the Sooners ripped Missouri in the Big 12 title game to earn a trip to Miami for the national title game.
Interestingly, Tressel and Brown both ranked the Longhorns second in their final ballots in the coaches poll. But Tressel had Oklahoma No. 1 and Brown ranked Florida first.
"The BCS doesn't satisfy everybody," Brown said. "We've been on the positive side of it a few times. We've been on the negative side a few times."
Instead of playing for their second national title in four seasons, the Longhorns will have to make do with a Jan. 5 date in Glendale, Ariz., against Ohio State (10-2).
Brown rejected a suggestion that his players might have trouble finding inspiration.
"I do not think the BCS will matter," Brown said. "The ratings do not matter. Anybody who has a chance to play in the Fiesta Bowl, in the BCS, against Ohio State, is not going to be flat."
Texas has played in one Fiesta Bowl, losing to Penn State 38-15 after the 1996 season.
Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com
