The Texas Longhorns look to dust off the cobwebs after a 27-20 Alamo Bowl loss to the Washington Huskies as they take the field at DKR against the Rice Owls on Saturday afternoon. It will be a hot day on the turf with temperatures expected to hover around 102 degrees at kickoff, but both teams will be ready to showcase the work put in during the offseason. For Texas, it’s Steve Sarkisian’s third year as head coach and expectations are high – rightfully so. Despite losing the team’s two best running backs in Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, the Longhorns are loaded on offense. As far as Rice is concerned, Mike Bloomgren hasn’t held a winning record in his previous five seasons as head coach of the Owls. He will look to lead his team to what would amount to a monumental upset over Texas – something Rice hasn’t done in nearly 30 years (10/15/1994).
How will the season opener shake out for the Longhorns? Does Rice have the players and depth to notch their first win at DKR since 1965? Our staff weighs in with their final score predictions and thoughts on the game.
Jameson McCausland (0-0)
It will be interesting to see what Texas shows gameplan wise on Saturday with the looming matchup in Tuscaloosa next week. The Longhorns were pretty vanilla against ULM a year ago before hosting the Crimson Tide, but Rice likely presents a few more challenges than the Warhawks did. JT Daniels will return to DKR for the 3rd time with his 3rd different team. He has shown good ability as a passer, but the skill talent around him will likely be a step down from what he had at West Virginia last year.
Defensively, Rice had issues last year and didn’t put up much resistance against quality offenses. There is not much you will likely be able to take away from this game if you are a Texas fan, but it will be mildly concerning if the Longhorns can’t run the ball effectively.
Rice has enough talent to where Texas likely won’t completely overwhelm them from the opening snap, but the Longhorns should pull away relatively easily if all goes according to plan.
Score Prediction: Texas 45, Rice 10
Aaron Carrara (0-0)
The beauty of season openers is we anticipate seeing the growth a program has made in the offseason. Unfortunately that growth sometimes manifests itself as regression. That won’t be the case on Saturday against the Rice Owls. The Longhorns are likely much-improved from last season, and they have an arsenal of playmakers that will make things difficult for Mike Bloomgren’s squad. The Owls are improved at quarterback with veteran JT Daniels, but a hungry Texas defense and the lack of a supporting cast for Daniels will make for a long day for the Rice offense. This is a tune up for the Alabama game next week and the goal will be to keep everyone healthy. Expect Sark to play a lot of guys down on the depth chart in the second half as this one gets out of hand early.
Score Prediction: Texas 63, Rice 13
Todd Glawson (0-0)
College football is finally back and Texas appears to have its most talented roster in over a decade. Will it translate to the field? If all goes well on Saturday against Rice, your best players are resting in the second half and immediately shifting their focus towards a huge road trip to Tuscaloosa. Score early, score often and get out of this weekend as healthy as possible. This one isn’t complicated.
Score Prediction: Texas 52, Rice 10
Devon Messinger (0-0)
On Saturday, Rice quarterback JT Daniels will trot out onto DKR’s turf for the third time in his career… each of which with a different football team. The journeyman gunslinger will have his work cut out for him against the Longhorns, trying to move the chains with a squad that went 5-8 last season and was devoid of offensive playmakers.
The key for the Longhorns in their season opener will be their ability to create pressure against Daniels. If the Longhorns can make the Owls one dimensional, you can expect the game to get out of hand fast as the Rice running back room has been nothing but inconsistent in recent history. And, on offense for the Longhorns, expect Quinn Ewers to test his arm early and often, with a decently sprinkled amount of carries going to a plethora of running backs.
Score Prediction: Texas 55, Rice 3
Ryan Swantkowski (0-0)
On Saturday, Rice quarterback JT Daniels will trot out onto DKR’s turf for the third time in his career… each of which with a different football team. The journeyman gunslinger will have his work cut out for him against the Longhorns, trying to move the chains with a squad that went 5-8 last season and was devoid of offensive playmakers.
The key for the Longhorns in their season opener will be their ability to create pressure against Daniels. If the Longhorns can make the Owls one dimensional, you can expect the game to get out of hand fast as the Rice running back room has been nothing but inconsistent in recent history. And, on offense for the Longhorns, expect Quinn Ewers to test his arm early and often, with a decently sprinkled amount of carries going to a plethora of running backs.
Score Prediction: Texas 48, Rice 13
Mitch Lovell (0-0)
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers gets the season started off on the right note and the defense looks impressive in the 2023 debut. The Longhorns will be entirely too much for the Rice Owls on a hot, sunny day in Austin.
Score Prediction: Texas 63, Rice 10
Dylan DeRaud (0-0)
The upcoming matchup against Rice carries all the signs of a lopsided victory in favor of the Longhorns. On the offensive side for Rice, while quarterback JT Daniels has had an interesting career bouncing around from USC to Georgia and then to West Virginia last year, he struggled against Texas that season. On the defensive end, Rice has had ongoing issues getting off the field, ranking near the bottom in points allowed and third-down conversion rate. Expect big games from the receiving core as Quinn Ewers lights up the box score. Along with the fans getting to see this new backfield of Johnathan Brooks and CJ Baxter as they attempt to replace the production left by Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson. On the flip side, Jaylon Ford will wreak havoc on the Rice offense and the veteran secondary led by Jahdae Barron will stifle any attempts at big plays.
Score Prediction: Texas 49, Rice 7
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