No. 11/12 Football preview: Rice

The Longhorns open the 2023 season this Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Texas (0-0) vs. Rice (0-0)September 2, 2023Where: Austin, TexasStadium: Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial StadiumTime: 2:30 p.m. CTTV: FOX (Jason Benetti, Brock Huard, Allison Williams)Radio: Longhorn Radio Network (Craig Way, Roger Wallace, Will Matthews)Spanish Radio: Longhorn Radio Network (Dr. Rubén Pizarro-Silva, Arturo Mata)

Game week is finally here! 🤘🏈 Texas vs. Rice📅 Saturday, Sept. 2 | 2:30 PM CT📍 DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium📺 FOX @CFBONFOXPresented by South Texas Ford Dealers pic.twitter.com/2XyjBX4SIy

THE OPENING KICKOFF• The University of Texas kicks off its 131st season of football on Saturday when the Longhorns square off with the Rice Owls.• UT is 111-16-3 (.863) all-time in home openers, with victories in each of the last fives seasons after defeating Tulsa in 2018, Louisiana Tech in 2019, UTEP in 2020, Louisiana in 2021 and ULM in 2022.• Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium will begin its 100th season as the home for Texas Football.• Texas is 79-17-3 (.813) all-time in openers at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.• The 2023 season will mark the 25th time in the last 28 years that Texas has opened its season at home, with the Horns posting a 22-2 record in the previous 24 contests.• The Longhorns are 107-20-3 (.835) all-time in season openers.• Texas currently boasts 936 all-time wins, the fifth-most in college football history. UT holds an all-time record of 936-390-33 (.701).

SERIES HISTORY VS. RICE• Saturday's game marks the 97th all-time meeting between the two former Southwest Conference rivals, and the first since 2021.• Texas has played only three other programs more often than Rice: Oklahoma (118), Texas A&M (118) and Baylor (112).• The Longhorns hold a 74-21-1 advantage in the all-time series and has won 15 straight against the Owls. The Horns have won 43 of their last 44 meetings against Rice, dating back to 1966.• UT is 44-8 all-time against Rice in Austin and defeated the Owls 58-0 in 2021 during the teams' last meeting at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.• Texas has won 24-straight games against Rice at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, a streak that began with a 28-6 victory in 1967.• The Longhorns and Owls faced off every year from 1914-1995 with Texas compiling a record of 60-21-1.

Rice Owls Scouting Report• Saturday's game marks the 97th all-time meeting between the two former Southwest Conference rivals, and the first since 2021.• The Owls will play their first game as a member of the American Athletic Conference after competing as a member of Conference USA from 2005-22.• Head coach Mike Bloomgren enters his sixth season at Rice with a career record of 16-39.• Last season, Rice went 5-8 (3-5 C-USA), and played in the LendingTree Bowl, falling to Southern Miss, 38-24.• The Owls return 12 starters this season.

A Texas Win Would ... • Be Texas' 937th victory all-time, the fifth-winningest program in college football history.• Give Steve Sarkisian his 60th victory as a head coach and 14th at Texas in his 107th career game as a head coach.• Mark the 16th consecutive victory against Rice and 75th overall.• Mark Texas' fifth-straight season-opening win.• Be the Longhorns' sixth consecutive victory in a home opener.• Improve Sarkisian's record against current AAC teams to 3-0 (currently 1-0 versus Rice and UTSA).

Third Season of Sarkisian Era• Texas Football Head Coach Steve Sarkisian enters his third season at the helm of the Longhorns and his 10th season as a head coach overall.• Last season, the Texas offense ranked 24th in the nation and third in the Big 12 Conference with 34.5 points per game, the fourth-straight top-25 scoring output for a Sarkisian-led offense.• The offensive showing also marked the eighth top-25 scoring offense in Sarkisian's career.• Marked the seventh time a Sarkisian offense averaged at least 34 points per game.• Bijan Robinson rushed for 1,580 yards in 2022 marking the 11th consecutive year a Sarkisian offense has had a 1,000-yard rusher.

100th season of Texas Football at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium• 2023 will mark the 100th season in which Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium at Campbell-Williams will serve as the home for Texas Football.• The first game at Texas Memorial Stadium took place on Nov. 8, 1924, as the Longhorns welcomed 13,500 fans for a Southwest Conference matchup against Baylor.• The stadium was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day 1924, after the UT student body decided to name the stadium in honor of the 198,520 Texans who fought in World War I and the 5,280 who lost their lives doing so.• In 1977, the stadium was rededicated to veterans of all wars.• The stadium was renamed in honor of College Football Hall of Fame Darrell K Royal in 1996.• In 2020, the field, previously named for Joe Jamail, was renamed in honor of Heisman Trophy winners Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams.• The Longhorns enter 2023 with an all-time record at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium is 393-122-10 (.758).

What Returns in 2023• In 2023, Texas returns QB Quinn Ewers, who started 10 of 13 games as a redshirt freshman last season. Ewers threw for 2,177 of UT's 3,138 passing yards in 2022 and 15 of the Longhorns' 22 touchdowns.• The top three receivers from a season ago are back in WRs Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington, as well as TE Ja'Tavion Sanders. Worthy hauled in 60 receptions for 760 yards and a Big 12 leading nine touchdowns and Whittington caught 50 passes for 652 yards and one touchdown. Sanders had 54 receptions, the most for a tight end in program history, for 613 yards and five touchdowns,• The Longhorns top rushers from a season ago, RBs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, were selected in the 2023 NFL Draft, leaving sophomore Jonathon Brooks and senior Keilan Robinson as UT's top-two returning ball carriers. Brooks rushed for 204 yards on 30 carries (6.6 ypc) with five touchdowns, including an 11-carry, 108 yard, two touchdown performance against Kansas.• Texas' offensive line returns all five starters along the offensive line with Kelvin Banks, Jr., Hayden Connor, Jake Majors, Cole Hutson and Christian Jones back for the 2023 season, the first time in at least 30 years that the entire starting O-Line returns.• On the defensive side of the ball, the Longhorns return three of their top-four tacklers, led by All-American linebacker Jaylan Ford, who posted a career-high 119 tackles (61 solo) last season.• Also back are DBs Jerrin Thompson (83 tackles) and Jahdae Barron (78 tackles), who finished third and fourth on the team.• Ford is also the leader returning in interceptions with four, forced fumbles with three and fumble recoveries with six.• Three returning players who had at least nine tackles for loss include Barron (team-leading 11.5), Ford (10) and DL Barryn Sorrell (9).• Along the defensive line, four players that had at least three QB hurries are back with Sorrell and T'Vondre Sweat leading the way with seven each, followed by Vernon Broughton with four and Alfred Collins with three. Also in the mix is Jaylon Guilbeau, who tallied four QB hurries in 2022.• Three letterwinners return among the specialists in kickers Bert Auburn and Will Stone and longsnapper Lance St. Louis. Auburn made 21 field goals and was successful on 80.1% of his attempts (21-of-26). Stone handled kickoff duties in 2022 and St. Louis emerged as the primary longsnapper during week four of the season.• Keilan Robinson was the primary kickoff returner in 2022, returning 16 kicks for 403 yards (25.2 ypr) with a long of 52 yards, while Xavier Worthy was the primary punt returner with 15 returns for 146 yards (9.7 ypr).

Honoring the 1963 National Champions• Texas Football will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1963 National Championship team, the first national title in program history.• Longhorn great David McWilliams, a 1993 Longhorn Hall of Honor inductee who played center and was a captain for the 1963 national champions, and later serve as head coach at Texas from 1987-91, will be the honorary captain and present the coin for the opening coin toss.• The Longhorns' undefeated run to the national championship included a 10-6 victory over Rice at a packed Texas Memorial Stadium on Oct. 26 in Austin.• Longhorn Network will air the documentary '1963': Texas' Undefeated Run To Title throughout the week ahead of Saturday's game. Air times for the documentary are:

Limited tickets remain for home opener versus Rice• Season tickets and 3-game mini plans are sold out for the 2023 football season. A limited amount of single-game tickets are still available for Texas Football's home opener versus Rice on September 2. Tickets can be purchased online at TexasSports.com/Tickets. Fans who wish to receive information about season tickets in future years should tickets become available can fill out a ticket interest form.

Derrick Johnson to be recognized for his induction into College Football Hall of Fame• Longhorn legend Derrick Johnson will be recognized in-game for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023. The Nagurski and Butkus Award winner and NFL first-round draft pick will be the 25th Longhorn inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The Champs are Here• In recognition of Texas' successful 2022-23, the Longhorns' two NCAA National Champions and 12 Big 12 Conference Champions will be recognized at halftime.• In addition, all 2022-23 female student-athletes will be recognized for winning the Women's Capital One Cup for the second consecutive season.• Texas registered NCAA team championships in Volleyball and Women's Outdoor Track and Field. The titles marked the third NCAA crown and first since 2012 for Volleyball, and the fifth NCAA championship and first since 2005 for Women's Outdoor Track and Field.• UT earned 11 Big 12 Conference titles during the 2021-22 season: Soccer, Volleyball, Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving, Women's Basketball, Men's Basketball (tournament), Women's Tennis (regular season and tournament), Men's Tennis, Rowing, Women's Outdoor Track and Field and Baseball.• The University of Texas finished as the runner-up in the LEARFIELD Division I Directors' Cup for the 2022-23 season, the Longhorns' third-straight top-two finish after collecting back-to-back championships in 2020-21 and 2021-22.• Texas was the only school in the nation to qualify all of its eligible teams for the NCAA postseason and play in a bowl game.• UT has captured a league-best 217 all-time Big 12 Championships (59 regular season and 158 postseason) through the completion of the 2022-23 season.

Remembering Bill Little• Legendary University of Texas Athletics Administrator Bill Little passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Friday, Aug. 18 in Austin. He was 81.• Little was the face — and often the voice — of Longhorn athletics for more than 50 years. Long before sports reporting turned digital, Little, as sports editor of The Daily Texan, was hammering out copy on a manual Royal typewriter. He continued to masterfully and skillfully share stories of Longhorn Athletics through the many transformations of broadcast radio and television, varying forms of delivering news, and from the 24-hour news cycle to the non-stop news cycle that took over the industry.• A 1964 UT graduate, Little spent two years writing for The Austin American-Statesman, then moved to Oklahoma City to write for The Associated Press. After two-years with The AP, he returned home to Austin and to The University of Texas for good.• Inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1993, Little served UT in many capacities: first as assistant SID under the legendary Jones Ramsey, then as Sports Information Director, as Special Assistant to the Athletics Director, as Assistant AD for External Communications, then head of communications for Mack Brown.• Little worked 37 bowl games, was a publicist for three football national championship teams (1969, 1970, 2005), and accompanied an unheard of 25 teams to the College World Series in Omaha. He worked more than 1,700 baseball games, had lengthy radio stints with both men's and women's basketball, and his record-setting streak at one point reached 521 consecutive Longhorn football games. The string was almost broken when, just before the 1995 Sugar Bowl, he suffered a heart attack, but the ever-professional Little convinced doctors that he'd be under more stress in the hospital than he would if he attended the game. The streak remained intact all the way until his retirement in 2014.• A Celebration of Life service is set for Sunday, October 1, at 2:30 p.m. CT at the Lady Bird Johnson Auditorium in the LBJ Library (2313 Red River Street, Austin, TX 78712) on The University of Texas campus.• In lieu of flowers, the family encourages contributions to three of Little's favorite organizations: Friends of the Daily Texan, which ensures long-term funding of scholarships for staff members of The Daily Texan; the Bill Little Legacy Scholarship at the Texas Exes Cheer and Pom Alumni Network Operating Endowment; and Hospice Austin.• Prior to the game against Rice, a moment of silence will be held for Little and legendary Longhorn Red McCombs, who passed in February.

Transferring to the 40• Five new faces arrived on the Forty Acres for the 2023 season via transfer from other colleges. That group includes:

Longhorn Graduates• Seven members of The University of Texas Football team enter the 2023 season having completed their degree requirements and have earned their degrees prior to the season. The list includes: DL Trill Carter, DB Jalen Catalon, LB David Gbenda, OL Christian Jones, K Gabriel Lozano, P Ryan Sanborn and WR Jordan Whittington.• Additionally, 10 Longhorns are set to earn their bachelors or master's degrees or graduates certificate in the fall. They are: TE Gus Asel, TE Patrick Bayouth, LB Jett Bush, OL Sawyer Goram-Welch, OL Jake Majors, DL Byron Murphy II, RB Keilan Robinson, DL T'Vondre Sweat, DB Jerrin Thompson and QB Charles Wright.

X-Factor• Junior WR Xavier Worthy is one of the premier wide receivers in the Big 12 and the nation.• For his career, Worthy has hauled in 122 receptions for 1,741 yards and 21 touchdowns.• His 21 receiving touchdowns are tops among returning Power 5 wide receivers and second among all FBS receivers (Zakari Franklin, who leads with 37, is entering his first season with Ole Miss after four seasons at UTSA).• Worthy's 122 career receptions are third among active Big 12 players (Phillip Brooks, K-State - 129; Brennan Presley, Oklahoma State - 124)• The Fresno, Calif. native has caught a pass in all 25 games he has played, tied for the eighth-longest streak in program history, and his 122 career receptions are the 14th-most for a Longhorn.

Quinn in Command• Sophomore Quinn Ewers returns under center after one of the top freshman campaigns for a Texas QB in program history.• In 10 games last season, Ewers completed 172-of-296 passes (58.1%) for 2,177 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2022.• Ewers concluded the season with an active streak of 116 consecutive passes without an interception, tied for the eighth-longest streak in program history.• His 2,177 passing yards were the fifth-most all time for a Texas freshman and the 22nd-most in program history, while the 15 touchdown passes were the fourth-most in a season for a Longhorn freshman.• He led Texas to six victories, tied for third-most by a freshman in program history.• In the Alamo Bowl against Washington, he connected on 31-of-47 passes for 369 yards and one touchdown, establishing career highs for completions and passing yards.• The 31 completions and 47 passing attempts were the third-most ever for a Texas quarterback in a bowl game and both marks equaled the 10th-most in any single game in program history.• Additionally, his 369 passing yards were the third-most ever for a Longhorn in a bowl game and 16th-most in a single game in UT history.

Sanders is a Sensation• Junior TE Ja'Tavion Sanders has been tremendous during the 2022 campaign, earning All-Big 12 Honors from the league's coaches and the Associated Press.• A John Mackey Award semifinalist last season, hauled in 54 receptions for 613 yards and five touchdowns.• His 54 catches set a single-season record for a Texas tight end, while his 613 yards were the second-most in a season for a Longhorn at the position and his five TD's tied for third.• He hauled in at least five passes in eight of 13 games in 2022.• For his career, Sanders ranks eighth all-time among Longhorn tight ends in receptions (54) and 10th in receiving yards (613).

Ford Foundation• Senior LB Jaylan Ford emerged as one of the top defenders in the nation in 2022, earning All-American honors from the Associated Press and first-team All-Big 12 accolades from the league's coaches and the AP.• The Frisco, Texas native was tabbed the 2023 Preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, the first Longhorn to earn the distinction since Malik Jefferson in 2016.• In 2022, he led the Longhorns with a career-high 119 tackles (61 solo), three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and four interceptions.• He also logged 10 tackles for loss, two sacks, two quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.• His four interceptions tied the single-season interception record for a Texas linebacker, last accomplished by Derrick Johnson in 2002 and 2003. All four of his interceptions led to Texas touchdowns, while his two fumble recoveries clinched victories over Kansas State and Iowa State.• Ford's 119 total tackles were the most in a season for a Longhorn since 2014 (Jordan Hicks - 147; Steve Edmond - 131).

Jahdae All Day• Senior DB Jahdae Barron's impact in the defensive backfield can be felt throughout the team.• In 2022, Barron tallied a career-high 78 tackles (43 solo) including a team-leading 11.5 tackles for loss while adding two interceptions, one quarterback hurry, three pass breakups, one fumble recovery and two defensive touchdowns (INT, FR).• Posted at least five tackles in eight games last season, including three double-digit performances.• The pair of non-offensive touchdowns gave him three for his career, two shy of Michael Huff's UT record.

Burnt Orange Auburn• Junior K Bert Auburn enters the 2023 season as the fourth-most accurate kicker in Longhorn history, connecting on 80.8% (21-of-26) of his career attempts.• He has a current streak of eight consecutive successful field goal tries.• Auburn has been successful on 58 consecutive extra point tries, the sixth-longest streak in program history.• In 2022, he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 recognition after connecting on 21-of-26 field goals (80.8%), including 7-of-9 tries from 40 or more yards.• He ranked second in the Big 12 Conference with 118 points scored and in points per game (9.2).• His 118 points scored are the eighth most in a season in UT history and second for a Texas kicker.