No. 1 Texas visits No. 14 Tennessee on Saturday (11:00 CT, ABC). Live HASHMARK: Texas −3.8 / 59.9%. Vegas close on the schedule: Texas −4.5, O/U 55.5. That is a rare close card on a weekend full of flips.
HX ranks Texas 5th (6.44) against AP’s No. 1; Tennessee is HX 18th (4.08) vs AP 14. FPI has Texas 2nd and Tennessee 10th — so the market and FPI are closer to each other than either is to HX’s Texas under-rank relative to the ballot.
Injury note for the desk: Texas RB Hollywood Smothers remains questionable (lower-leg) on the Thursday SEC report, with local reports flagging real concern he may not go. Do not invent snaps. Yahoo frames Faizon Brandon’s early Tennessee tape (nine total TDs, zero interceptions) against a Texas defense allowing 3.4 yards per carry.
Why it matters
National window + clean HX/Vegas agreement contrast against the A&M–LSU and Ole Miss–Florida flips.