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The best Texas Longhorns season-opening games since 1970

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•05/23/25•

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Tyrone Swoopes
Tyrone Swoopes (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

The Texas Longhorns open the season against the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes on August 30 in 99 days. Texas is no stranger to significant early-season games. However, rarely have the Longhorns played a big time opponent in the first week of the season.

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Here are a few of the most notable week one contests for Texas since Darrell Royal won his third national championship.

1980 – Arkansas

A season-opening game versus a conference rival? It’s not totally common in college football and certainly is a rarity for Texas. But 45 years ago, the No. 10 Longhorns welcomed the No. 6 Razorbacks to open the season. Texas won 23-17, starting a five game winning streak. However, Texas lost 5 of its last 7, but the win over the Pigs

1983 – at Auburn

No. 3 Texas traveled to No. 5 Auburn to face a team that featured Bo Jackson in a battle between two programs that would finish in the top five of the AP Poll. As a team, the Tigers rushed 41 times for 130 yards and one score, a Jackson 2-yard scamper late in the fourth. Rob Moerschell rushed for a score and Rick McIvor threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Epps to top Auburn on the Plains. The win kept Texas at No. 2 for most of the season until a loss to Georgia in the 1984 Cotton Bowl

1984 – Auburn

No. 4 Texas welcomed the No. 11 Tigers to Austin the following year, and Jackson entered Texas Memorial Stadium looking to make up for a so-so performance the year prior. He was only able to do so much as he had just one score and was part of a 3.7 yards per rush effort from Auburn. The Tigers made hay in the passing game, but Texas was able to outscore AU thanks to Todd Dodge, Terry Orr, Jerome Johnson, and Brent Duhon for a 35-27 win.

1990 – at Penn State

Where ‘Shock the Nation’ began. The unranked Longhorns went to Happy Valley to face Joe Paterno and the No. 21 Penn State Nittany Lions, who were coming off an 8-3-1 year and a Holiday Bowl win over an undefeated BYU. An ugly game with 12 total punts, 13 Penn State Penalties, limited third down success by both teams, and only one Texas touchdown helped Texas leave Pennsylvania with a win that would build momentum throughout the entire 1990 season.

1995 – at Hawaii

By no means was this a good Rainbow Warriors team, but a certain freshman running back named Ricky Williams rushed 10 times for 95 yards and two touchdowns to start his legendary career.

2016 – Notre Dame

For almost 30 years, Texas wouldn’t put a big game in week one. Rather, the Longhorns would wait until week two or week three to play a premier opponent. That changed in the early 2010s, when Texas started adding games with large name brand teams. A year after getting walloped in a season opener in South Bend, the Longhorns welcomed the No. 10 Fighting Irish to Texas for a Labor Day Eve game. Texas was back in the exciting overtime affair capped by Tyrone Swoopes leaping score.

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The Longhorns will add to this list on August 30 when they face Ohio State.

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