Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
The Texas Longhorns open the season at home against the Rice Owls.
"Obviously this is an exciting time for us, our fans, our students," said Head Coach Sarkisian.
"We've got a veteran opponent coming to town. Rice is a team that has a great deal of experience," said Sarkisian. "They are returning a lot of starters, especially on the defensive-side of the ball. They have a quarterback who has played with a ton of experience. He's played here twice in his career. They are hard-nosed, their tough, they have very intricate schemes, so we have our work cut out for us from a preparation standpoint."
"I am excited that we get to have our fans back in DKR," said Sarkisian. "It is going to be an exciting time."
Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 on Saturday.
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.