Texas vs. Vanderbilt live stream, where to watch, TV channel, football game odds, spread, prediction, picks

One of just five matchups between ranked teams will take place in Nashville this week when No. 25 Vanderbilt hosts No. 5 Texas. Yes, you read that correctly. The Commodores (5-2), the first since 2013, enter this week on a three-game winning streak that includes victories over Alabama and Kentucky. Texas (6-1), for its part, is hoping to bounce back after suffering its first loss of the season last week against Georgia.

Vanderbilt is looking for its second win against an AP Top 5 team this season. In those situations, the Commodores entered the year 0-60 all-time.

Texas enters this game on an eight-game road win streak. It's the longest active streak in the FBS and the best road stretch for the program since 2008-10. The Longhorns are hoping to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since 2021 – Steve Sarkisian's debut season with the program.

There weren't many people who viewed this as a critical SEC game to start the year. But it's important to Texas' playoff hopes and provides a springboard for Vanderbilt to legitimately get into the SEC title race.

How to watch Texas vs. Vanderbilt live

Date: Saturday, Oct. 26 | Time: 4:15 p.m. ET
Location: FirstBank Stadium – Nashville, Tennessee
TV: SEC Network | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)

Texas vs. Vanderbilt: Need to know

Texas' QB situation under the microscope: When Steve Sarkisian subbed Quinn Ewers in favor of Arch Manning against Georgia last Saturday, he opened Pandora's Box. It doesn't matter that Sarkisian named Ewers the team's starter after the game ended. It doesn't matter if the offense worked better with Ewers than with Manning under center. Now Ewers vs. Manning — arguably the most famous name in college football — will be a topic of conversation every week.

That starts Saturday in Nashville, where Ewers will look to re-establish both his stranglehold on the QB1 job in Austin and his draft stock. Ewers, who was the Heisman favorite on sports betting apps before suffering an injury in Week 3 against UTSA, has just a combined record of 45-of-72 with three touchdowns against two interceptions since returning two games ago.

Perhaps a Vanderbilt defense that ranks 86th nationally in opponent pass rating can be a solution to Ewers' recent woes.

Vanderbilt plays everyone close: One interesting thing to note about Vanderbilt this season is that they have been able to keep up with the competition depending on the week. In every game against FBS competition, 10 points or fewer were scored. That includes wins over Alabama, Virginia Tech and Kentucky – plus an overtime loss to Missouri. That includes a loss to Georgia State and a narrower-than-expected 10-point win over Ball State last week.

Vanderbilt games tend to be close for several reasons:

1. Vanderbilt controls the clock and ranks 14th nationally in time of possession. The Commodores typically have a lot of successful down-to-down plays (28th nationally in success rate) and are well above average on third downs (eighth nationally). This combination keeps them on the field.

2. Vanderbilt usually wins the turnover battle and ranks 17th nationally in turnover margin.

This is an interesting counterpart for Texas, which has done an excellent job of countering these strengths. The Longhorns have a top-10, third-ranked defense nationally and have forced the 14th-most turnovers in the FBS.

A rare matchup: Fun fact: Vanderbilt is the only SEC team that Texas has played multiple times and does not have an all-time winning record against. The Commodores are 8-3-1 against the Longhorns. However, this comes with the caveat that these programs have not met for 96 years.

Texas vs. Vanderbilt Prediction, Tips

What matters in this game is how the Commodores handle the clock. If they can get long drives and confuse Texas' fast front seven with a misdirection, this game will be close. Should Vanderbilt make a few three-and-outs, the game could quickly spiral out of control as the Commodores' pass defense has struggled this year. But give me Vanderbilt to at least cover the betting line. They have improved in every big moment this season. Why should this stop on Saturday? Pick: Vanderbilt +18.5

All odds via Caesars Sportsbook. Check out the latest Caesars promo code to get in on the game.

SportsLine's proven computer model calls for five upsets in Week 9 of college football. Visit SportsLine now to see them all, plus get spread picks for every game from the model that simulates every game 10,000 times.