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To no surprise, nearly every publication expects Texas to win big.
Texas suffered a devastating loss to Arkansas last week and are looking to get back in the win column on Saturday against Rice. Continue reading “Texas vs. Rice: Who the experts are picking to win”
Can’t make the game? Here’s how to tune in.
After a disappointing loss to Arkansas, the Texas Longhorns are hoping to respond in a big way against Rice in Week 3. Continue reading “How to watch, listen, and stream Texas vs. Rice in Week 3”
Longhorns Wire staff members submit their predictions and whether or not Texas will cover the spread.
Texas is eager to get back on the field and erase the sour taste in their mouth from the 40-21 loss from Arkansas. Continue reading “Longhorns Wire staff predictions for Texas vs. Rice”
Texas was blatantly exposed against Arkansas and needs a big bounce back performance from these three groups.
Texas experienced a week of pure joy to open the season after knocking off No. 23 Louisiana, but had it pulled out from under them when Arkansas blew them out of the water in Week 2.
The team was exposed beyond belief in every aspect of the game, and head coach Steve Sarkisian has to look to make some changes prior to beginning conference play. On Monday, Sarkisian announced that Casey Thompson will be the starting quarterback for their matchup against Rice rather than redshirt freshman Hudson Card.
Thompson was one of the few bright spots of the loss against Arkansas, as he was able to consistently go off script and make plays with his feet. Usually you would not want a quarterback to always have to be on the run, but due to the inferior play of the Longhorns’ offensive line, both Card and Thompson were on the run seemingly every play. The difference being, that Thompson was more comfortable being uncomfortable, which is a testament to his experience and confidence.
The defense was nothing to write home about either, as they were shredded by the Arkansas ground game. Some have pointed out that defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski was not stacking the box and forcing a very shaky passer in K.J. Jefferson to beat them with his arm, but rather allowed him to use his legs whenever he pleased. The Texas defense was getting no pressure on the quarterback, nor were they able to tackle anyone.
The great performance we saw in the season opener from Texas looked like a distant memory, but the staff is confident that they can turn it around.
Here are three things that the team needs to improve upon in the game against Rice in order to shake off the loss and charge forward.
First, the wide receivers
Let’s get BOLD.
Just two games into the season, the Longhorns have already experienced what feels like a seasons worth of ups and downs.
Texas started the season hot out of the gates, beating a ranked Louisiana team by 20 points, which had the nation pondering if they were back. The Longhorns provided the answer the following week, when they got absolutely embarrassed by an unranked Arkansas team.
The stud redshirt freshman quarterback Hudson Card from the first game was no where to be found, as he was plagued by overthrows and always being on the run due to the offensive line getting consistently torn apart by a three-man front. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has decided that
Casey Thompson will now start for the Longhorns in Week 3 against Rice.
Whether or not Thompson benefited from the Arkansas defense being in prevent, and not having a specific game plan for him is yet to be seen. However, he produced two touchdowns against the Razorbacks and provided Texas with a spark that they seemed to be lacking.
The Rice matchup will be the first start of Thompson’s collegiate career and he is hoping to never let go of the job he once yearned for.
The rest of the team is looking to bounce back, as there was not a single positive aspect of the game outside of Thompson coming in and rushing for two touchdowns when Texas was down 33-7.
My bold predictions from last week did not go as planned by any means, as I was not expecting the Longhorns to be throttled the way they were. To keep the weekly tradition rolling, here are my five bold predictions for Texas’ matchup against Rice in Week 3.
One of Clemson’s baseball transfers has found his new home. The Clemson Insider was notified Friday that former Tiger Pierce Gallo has committed to Rice University. This year, Gallo played in six games and started four for the Tigers. He was hitting …
One of Clemson’s baseball transfers has found his new home. The Clemson Insider was notified Friday that former Tiger Pierce Gallo has committed to Rice University.
This year, Gallo played in six games and started four for the Tigers. He was hitting .250 for the Tigers with one run driven in.
Gallo received a redshirt from the NCAA with the season’s suspension on March 12, 2020 and cancellation due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He was an ACC Academic Honor Roll member in 2020.
In 2020, Gallo hit .077 with three runs, an .077 slugging percentage, a .200 on-base percentage, two walks and a steal in seven games (four starts at shortstop).
Gallo was the No. 270 freshman in the nation in the preseason by Perfect Game. He was the No. 52 freshman in the ACC in the preseason by Perfect Game and No. 36 ACC prospect for the 2022 draft in the preseason by D1Baseball.
Few teams have never lost to the Crimson Tide, can you guess how many?
The University of Alabama football program is the gold standard in college football all across the nation. While there have been a few bumps in the road, the Crimson Tide stay at, or near, the top in all-time greatest programs.
The program’s resume is impressive: 18 national championships, three Heisman trophies and a head coach that received almost 20 times more votes for the 2017 Alabama Senatorial election (421) than he has all-time losses in his nearly 15-year career at Alabama (23).
Some younger college football fans my not know this, but Alabama actually use to lose a decent amount. In fact, there are some programs Alabama hasn’t beaten at all.
In total, there have been 11 programs to have beaten Alabama and never suffer a loss.
Few teams have never lost to the Crimson Tide, can you guess how many?
The University of Alabama football program is the gold standard in college football all across the nation. While there have been a few bumps in the road, the Crimson Tide stay at, or near, the top in all-time greatest programs.
The program’s resume is impressive: 18 national championships, three Heisman trophies and a head coach that received almost 20 times more votes for the 2017 Alabama Senatorial election (421) than he has all-time losses in his nearly 15-year career at Alabama (23).
Some younger college football fans my not know this, but Alabama actually use to lose a decent amount. In fact, there are some programs Alabama hasn’t beaten at all.
In total, there have been 11 programs to have beaten Alabama and never suffer a loss.
PODCAST: Mike Bloomgren discusses coaching career
HOUSTON — Mike Bloomgren enters his third season as head coach at Rice.
Before arriving at Rice, Bloomgren served as offensive coordinator at Stanford (2013-17), coaching the likes of Tennessee graduate transfer quarterback Keller Chryst.
The third-year Rice head coach began his career as a student assistant at Florida State.
From 1999-2001, Bloomgren served as a graduate assistant at Alabama and coached alongside former Tennessee assistant Kevin Sherrer and current Vols’ offensive line coach Will Friend.
Bloomgren joined the show “Tennessee Two-A-Days” to discuss his coaching career. The show can be listened to here or below.
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Texas has put their name in the running for two more guards. Tyrese Martin and Trey Murphy have recently announced they will be transferring.
After making the final six of Illinois sophomore guard Alan Griffin, Texas has put their name in the running for two more guards. Tyrese Martin out of Rhode Island and Trey Murphy from Rice have recently announced they will be transferring and Shaka Smart has reached out.
Starting with Martin, he will also be entering his junior season after two seasons with the Rams. A decent scorer averaging 12.8 points per game, Martin brings length to the perimeter, standing at 6 feet 6 inches. His seven rebounds a game ranked 12th in the Atlantic-10 last season.
Martin does struggle behind the three-point line though, a huge part of Shaka’s offensive strategy. Shooting 32% from deep last season, Martin’s freshman year was worse, shooting 31%.
Source: Rhode Island transfer Tyrese Martin is receiving interest from the following programs.
Oregon
Georgia
Ole Miss
Texas
Louisville
Xavier
Nebraska
Seton Hall
Creighton
Arizona State— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 26, 2020
Murphy may be a more desirable option for the Longhorns going forward, especially because he is a better shooter. While he dropped off 6% from his freshman year to his sophomore season, Murphy still connected on 36% of his three-pointers, fourth-best in Conference USA.
Scoring just over 13 a game, Murphy is even bigger than Martin, coming in at 6 feet 8 inches. His rebounding isn’t as efficient, grabbing 5.5 per game, but Martin’s scoring is what makes him the more attractive transfer option.
Rice transfer Trey Murphy III has heard from Villanova, Alabama, UConn, Creighton, Arizona State, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Arizona, Texas, Cincinnati, Iowa State, DePaul, Stanford, amongst others, he told @Stockrisers.
20+ programs intrigued. Underrated transfer. 13.5 PPG scorer.
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) March 30, 2020
Between Griffin and now Martin and Murphy, Texas has a solid chance of adding a transfer guard this offseason to bolster the roster. The core three of Coleman, Ramey, and Jones is nice, but Shaka Smarts needs more behind them.
Those three and one of the transfers could even play on the court at the same time if the Longhorns wanted to go small ball. Either way, a transfer this offseason opens up opportunities for how Texas’ offense will look next season.
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