College Football

No. 8 Texas looks to rebound after first loss in visit to old Southwest Conference foe Houston

Published Oct. 19, 2023 5:15 p.m. ET

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Houston coach Dana Holgorsen knows the Cougars will be getting the best shot from No. 8 Texas in their first game since the Longhorns' loss to Oklahoma ended their perfect start.

"I could only imagine what their mindset is," Holgorsen said. "They’ve been dominant all season but to have two weeks coming off that game I’m sure they’re going to be about as motivated as anyone in college football coming into Houston on Saturday afternoon."

Oklahoma capped a 75-yard drive with a 3-yard TD pass with 15 seconds left to get a 34-30 win over the Longhorns (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) on Oct. 7. Houston (3-3, 1-2) is also coming off a thrilling game, but the Cougars came out on top of their wild back-and-forth contest with West Virginia by scoring on a 49-yard Hail Mary as time expired for a 41-39 win.

Houston defeats West Virginia on a game-winning 49-yard Hail Mary as time expires

The Cougars, who are 22 1/2-point underdogs according to FanDuel Sportsbook, have had an up-and-down season, but Texas coach Steve Sarkisian believes they’ve improved since the start of the year.

"All in all, we know this team presents a lot of challenges," Sarkisian said. "We’re going to play against a confident football team in a sell-out game on the road, so we’ve got to prepare for the opportunity that lies ahead."

This is the first meeting since 2002 between these former Southwest Conference foes and the Longhorns have won seven straight in the series.

Holgorsen said he’s heard from a lot of fans this week as they prepare to renew the rivalry, if only for one year with Texas leaving for the Southeastern Conference next season.

"‘Just beat Texas,’" he said fans have told him. "’Don’t care if you win any of them, but you gotta win that one. You can go 1-11, and it’s OK if you beat Texas.’ Well, beating Texas is going to be hard. We know that."

While these teams haven’t met in more than two decades, Houston quarterback Donovan Smith has faced the Longhorns before. Last season while at Texas Tech, he threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as the Red Raiders upset Texas 37-34 in overtime.

Smith has thrown for 1,600 yards with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions this season.

"We’re getting ready to play an experienced quarterback which we all know all too well," Sarkisian said.

Holgorsen believes Smith’s success against the Longhorns will help this time around.

Steve Sarkisian, Quinn Ewers & more on Texas Longhorns' CRUSHING loss to Oklahoma Sooners

"That gives you confidence as a coach," he said. "You watch him play that game against Texas last year, he played well. He played extremely well in that game. Donovan’s a confident kid."

The Longhorns spent their off week focusing on fine tuning things on both sides of the ball as they try to work their way back into the College Football Playoff conversation.

"Last week I wanted to make sure that I re-sparked the competitive spirit," Sarkisian said. "Practice remained highly competitive last week."

The game is sold out as the Cougars look for their first win over Texas in Houston since a 23-14 victory at the Astrodome on Nov. 9, 1991.

"We’ll be excited about playing this game," Holgorsen said. "We haven’t played them in 20 years. Our fan base is excited about it."

TEXAS RED ZONE

The Longhorns have a season of big-play touchdowns but have struggled finishing long drives with touchdowns the last two weeks. Most notable was getting stuffed by Oklahoma on four consecutive plays inside the Sooners’ 5-yard line. Sarkisian laid some of the blame on himself for poor playcalling.

"We have to game plan better. We have to execute better. There’s no secret sauce to this," Sarkisian said.

GOLDEN RETURNER

Houston's Matthew Golden leads the FBS with two kickoff return touchdowns this season, including one last week. He had a 98-yard return for a touchdown against TCU before his 100-yard return against the Mountaineers. The Cougars lead the country with eight kickoff return touchdowns since 2019.

LONGHORN FRESHMEN

Two of Texas’ top defensive recruits have made quick impacts as freshmen. Linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. leads Texas with three sacks and his 25 total tackles rank fourth. Cornerback Malik Muhammad was pressed into starting duty against Oklahoma because of an injury to Ryan Watts and had his big moment against the Sooners with a blocked punt recovery for a touchdown.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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