Trip to Houston and game against the Cougars is a welcome one for Texas players from the Bayou City
It’s been more than two decades since Texas has played the University of Houston on the gridiron.
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The rivalry between the teams – born when the Cougars were members of the Missouri Valley Conference in the 1950s, cultivated as Houston was an independent in the 1960s and early 1970s, and solidified as the Longhorns and Cougars were both members of the Southwest Conference from 1976-1995 – is not even a memory for the players suiting up for Saturday’s dustup between No. 8 Texas and Houston.
Many were not even born in 2002, the last time the two teams played.
But that doesn’t mean the game won’t be uber-meaningful for the 21 players on the Longhorns’ 2023 roster that hail from the Houston area. It will the first time most have competed on the field at TDECU Stadium, the current home of the Cougars, and for some it will be the first time family members have watched them play in person.
The latter is the case for Texas offensive tackle Christian Jones, who hails from Cypress, a suburb of Houston.
“That’s gonna be the first game that my Grandma Joyce is gonna see me play in college,” Jones said on Monday. “So, I mean, it’s gonna be super, super exciting. She’s healthy though. She’s solid. She still runs up the stairs – I’ve got to tell her to totally calm down, stuff like that. But yeah, I’m excited. She’s excited. And just being home, you know?”
It’s the first time the Longhorns have played in Houston since squaring off against Rice in NRG Stadium in 2019.
It’s also the first time Texas has played the Cougars in the Bayou City since 2001, a 53-26 victory for the Longhorns in which Chris Simms threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns, B.J. Johnson caught four passes for 124 yards and one score and Ivan Williams rushed 19 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
That game was at the former Robertson Stadium, the precursor to TDECU Stadium.
Texas linebacker David Gbenda, who is from Katy, said the Longhorns are excited and ready to go play in Houston after a 34-30 loss to Oklahoma and a bye week to get things right.
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“I am very excited to go back home and play in that stadium,” Gbenda said. “I played there one time during the high school playoffs when we played Cy-Fair, so it’s good to get back home and be playing it front of my hometown fans.”
It’s the 26th all-time meeting between the programs, the first since 2002 and the first time as conference opponents since the Southwest Conference dissolved after the 1995 season. Texas leads the all-time series 16-7-2 and has won the past seven contests with the Cougars, including the last three played in Houston.
The Longhorns have won seven of the 11 games played in Houston against the Cougars, with one tie.
Houston (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) has plenty of momentum after a thrilling 41-39 win over West Virginia on Oct. 12. That victory was the Cougars’ first as a member of the Big 12 after two losses to begin their inaugural season in the conference.
There are no further games scheduled between Texas and Houston.
Houston coach Dana Holgorsen, echoing the sentiments heard by other Big 12 coaches this season, said the Cougars’ fan base is rabid for a win over the Longhorns.
“I’ve got a lot of comments – ‘just beat Texas. Don’t care if you win any of them, but you’ve got to win that one. You can go 1-11 and it’s okay if you beat Texas,’” Holgorsen said Monday.
