Tag: texas vs rice

Key quotes from Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian after the Rice win

Sarkisian seemed pleased with Texas’ performance in Week 3.

Texas looked like a completely different team this week in their 58-0 blowout win over Rice.

Yes, it was against an inferior team and program, but the Longhorns badly needed to perform the way they did otherwise there would be some major concerns heading into Big 12 play.

Casey Thompson got the start at quarterback, and outside of one interception caused by the offensive line being inept, he had a really good game throwing two touchdowns and completing 15-of-18. However, the big story was the rushing attack.

Texas had two players in Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson rush for over 100 yards, while having four players rush for over 60 yards. Along with six rushing touchdowns, the Longhorns running game accumulated 427 yards rushing and 10.4 yards per carry.

The defense also had their best performance of the season, not allowing any big plays, and were displaying much better tackling than what we saw last week against Arkansas. The front seven was able to physically overmatch the Rice offensive line and was extremely disruptive.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian seemed very pleased when speaking with reporters postgame. Take a look at what he had to say on the next page.

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WATCH: Texas RB Jonathon Brooks scores first collegiate touchdown

Freshman RB Jonathon Brooks found the end zone on a 17-yard rush against Rice.

Texas was able to allow young players and depth pieces to contribute to the dismantling of Rice in Week 3. Continue reading “WATCH: Texas RB Jonathon Brooks scores first collegiate touchdown”

Four takeaways from Texas’ Week 3 win against Rice

Four takeaways from the Week 3 win.

The Longhorns are back in the win column after annihilating Rice in Week 3.

Steve Sarkisian made a change at the quarterback position, but the night consisted of a steady order of running the ball down Rice’s throat. The Longhorns had four different backs tack up a rushing touchdown. Bijan Robinson was the star of the game, no surprise there, as the do it all player finished the game with three touchdowns, all of which came in the first half.

This game was and always should have been out of reach from the jump, the Longhorns were flat out embarrassed against Arkansas last week and needed a fine tuning game. Having a 44-0 lead at halftime is a great way to set the tone that last week’s loss is not resonating with Texas.

The offense was clicking on all cylinders, and the defense resembled the one we saw in Week 1 against Louisiana.

Although this game was not close, we are still able to take away some important notes about the Longhorns.

Texas vs. Rice halftime report: Horns dominate on the ground

Texas has dominated Rice on the ground in this one, 44-0 at the half.

As expected, Texas has dominated Rice in the first half. Continue reading “Texas vs. Rice halftime report: Horns dominate on the ground”

Pregame buzz as Texas prepares to take on Rice in Week 3

Wake up! It’s game day in Austin, Texas. Here is the pregame buzz as Texas gets ready to face Rice on Saturday night.

Wake up! It’s game day in Austin, Texas.

After a tough loss on the road to Arkansas, Steve Sarkisian’s Southwest Conference record is 0-1. He will have a chance to pull back to .500 Saturday night at home against Rice.

The big news of the week is Casey Thompson getting the starting nod at quarterback. After Hudson Card struggled last week, Sarkisian decided to make the change. Both are expected to play throughout, getting a test run before Big 12 play begins next week.

Adjustments are needed throughout the field as well, not just at quarterback. Kyle Flood’s offensive line struggled mightily against an SEC caliber defense and needs to respond. The same starting five of Jones-Okafor-Majors-Angilau-Kerstetter is expected to make the start.

Pete Kwiatkowski’s unit needs to improve as well.

The only reason Texas was in the game coming out of the halftime gate against Arkansas was because of the defense. However, no Longhorn could make a stop in the run game in the second half. Better pressure from the defensive line would be considered a win.

Here is the pregame buzz on Twitter as Texas gets ready to face Rice on Saturday night.

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Five things to watch for in Texas vs. Rice

Here are five things to watch for in Texas’ Saturday night matchup against Rice.

No matter what happens on Saturday against Rice, Texas is in a lose-lose situation.

Win by a ton? Congrats, you beat an 0-2 CUSA team and did what you were supposed to do. Keep it close? Wow, the wheels have fallen off even more in Austin, the Steve Sarkisian era is off to a rough start.

Especially with the quarterback controversy brewing. Sarkisian named Casey Thompson the starter this week after Hudson Card struggled against Arkansas. If given equal opportunities, both quarterbacks are going to look fantastic. I mean, it’s Rice.

Nonetheless, there are still a few things to look for during the game. Sarkisian and his staff have some important decisions to make before kicking off the conference schedule against Texas Tech next week. Players need to get back in form and at least attempt to look sharp.

Here are five things to watch for in Texas’ Saturday night matchup against Rice.

WATCH: The Longhorns are trying to bounce back and turn the page

Texas is hoping to redeem themselves against a lesser opponent in Rice this week.

Plain and simple, the Longhorns were outplayed by Arkansas in Week 2. However, that does not mean the season is over or that goals are out of reach.

Far from it.

Texas is still learning under this new coaching staff, and continuing to figure out what works for them and what doesn’t. Steve Sarkisian has made an adjustment at quarterback, and given junior Casey Thompson a chance to lead the team. For anyone that thought Texas was going to go undefeated in their first season under Sarkisian was delusional, because the team is full of inexperienced players getting their first crack at being key contributors.

The Arkansas loss was an embarrassment, and a game that the Longhorns very well could have won if there were better in-game adjustments made. The offensive line was atrocious, and at times made it seem like the defense had 16 people because of their poor play.

The defensive front seven may as well have just let Arkansas run past them every play, and just attempt to chase them, because they were getting abused up front. However, this Rice game could not have come at a better time, as Texas should have no problems dismantling an overmatched Owls team.

Sarkisian mentioned that his team took the Arkansas loss hard, as they should, but it also adds extra fuel to the fire moving forward. The Texas social media department put together a great video of the team’s mindset of moving past adversity ahead of the Rice matchup.

I fully expect them to have that page turned, and unfortunately for Rice, they will likely be on the receiving end of a Texas sized beatdown.

Five-star LB Harold Perkins, four-star WR Brenen Thompson will visit Texas on Saturday

Texas will have a couple of highly rated recruits on campus for the Rice game on Sept. 18.

Two highly rated prospects in the 2022 recruiting class will be on campus Saturday as Texas takes on Rice in Week 3. Continue reading “Five-star LB Harold Perkins, four-star WR Brenen Thompson will visit Texas on Saturday”

Throwback Thursday: The last 10 Texas-Rice matchups

Rice has only defeated Texas one time since 1966.

As Texas prepares to face Rice in Week 3 of the 2021 college football season, let’s take a look at their most recent matchups.

As is the case for the last few decades, the Longhorns are expected to blow out the Owls in convincing fashion this year. The all-time series sits at 73-21-1 in favor of Texas.

Since 1966, Rice has only defeated Texas one time. It came in 1994, when the Longhorns traveled to Houston and fell to the Owls 19-17.

From 1930-1960, which was the only time rice was considered to have the slight edge over the Longhorns, the Owls recorded 17 of their 21 total wins over Texas.

The largest win between the two programs came in 1915, when Texas defeated Rice 59-0.

The Longhorns are currently on a win-streak dating back to 1995 and the two schools have faced off 95 times. It’s unlikely that Rice will break that streak this week.

Take a look at the last 10 matchups between the two programs:

Everything Steve Sarkisian said to the media on Thursday ahead of Rice matchup

The Longhorns had a lot to address this week in practice.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian addressed the media on Thursday to discuss the upcoming matchup against Rice.

After announcing at the beginning of the week that he was making a change at the quarterback position, giving Casey Thompson the nod over Hudson Card, Sarkisian is hoping the rest of the team will perform as well as he expects.

Many concerns emerged after the loss or Arkansas, primarily the offensive line struggles. In the case of the defense, they gave up over 300 yards rushing, and looked like the Texas of old that could not tackle anyone.

The offensive line had troubles blocking, which resulted in the quarterbacks being under pressure every play. It was almost as if the defense for Arkansas was starting in the backfield every play.

There were no bright spots from the game except for Thompson leading the offense to a couple touchdowns when the game was out of reach, and B.J. Foster’s great interception in the third quarter.

Sarkisian was being peppered with many questions about personnel changes, and what his plans are moving forward. Let’s take a look at everything the first-year head coach had to say ahead of the Week 3 matchup against Rice.

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