The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
USC
Football preview: vs. No. 22/21 USC [Sept. 15, 2018]
09.10.2018 | Football
Two of college football's most successful programs meet Saturday night inside DKR.
Texas (1-1) vs No. 22/21 USC (1-1)
September 15, 2018
Where: Austin, Texas
Stadium: Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium
Time: 7 p.m. CT
TV: FOX (Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft)
Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network (Craig Way, Roger Wallace, Quan Cosby)
Spanish Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network (Dr. Rubén Pizarro-Silva, Jesus Mendoza)
National Radio: Sports USA (Josh Appel, John Robinson)
Live stats: hookem.at/FootballLiveStats
All-time series: USC leads 5-1
COMPLETE GAME NOTES
The Opening Kickoff
• The University of Texas is in its 126th season of playing football and will play its 1,300th all-time game on Saturday.
• The Longhorns own 899 all-time wins, looking to join Michigan and Ohio State as the only three programs to win 900 all-time games. UT holds an all-time record of 899-367-33 (.704).
• Two of college football's winningest programs square off Saturday night under the lights inside Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium. The Longhorns own the third-most wins in college football history with 899, while USC has the ninth-most with 835.
• Texas' 800th win in program history came on Jan. 4, 2006, when the Longhorns defeated No. 1 USC 41-38 in the Rose Bowl.
• Both Texas and USC are 1-1 on the season. UT opened the season with a 34-29 loss to Maryland on the road at FedExField, but bounced back to defeat Tulsa 28-21 in the home opener at DKR Saturday night. USC began the season with a win at home over UNLV, but was defeated 17-3 at Stanford on Saturday.
• The Longhorns are in the midst of another challenging slate in 2018, squaring off against 11 of their 12 opponents from a season ago. The only new opponent was Tulsa, who the Longhorns have never played prior to this season.
• Eight of UT's 2018 opponents played in a bowl game in 2017.
• Of the 64 Power Five Conference schools, just 12 (18.8%) play two Power Five opponents in the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Longhorns, who travel to Maryland and host USC, are one of those 12 schools.
• Furthermore, Texas is one of just seven schools nationally (California, Northwestern, Ohio State, USC, Purdue and West Virginia) to play a schedule with 11 Power Five opponents on it.
• The Longhorns are the only program in college football to play 11 Power Five Conference opponents in each regular season from 2015-18.
The All-time Series
• Saturday's game marks the seventh all-time meeting between these two storied programs, but the first in Austin since 1966.
• The series began in 1955 with a USC win. Saturday's matchup marks the return game to Austin after the Longhorns and Trojans played to a thrilling 27-24, double-overtime USC win last year in the LA Memorial Coliseum.
• Perhaps the biggest matchup between the two schools came in the 2006 Rose Bowl, when the Longhorns defeated No. 1 USC, 41-38, to win the 2005 BCS National Championship. That win was UT's 800th all-time.
First Timers
• Eight Longhorns have made their first career starts through the first two games.
• Against Maryland, LT Calvin Anderson, WR Brennan Eagles, DT Ta'Quon Graham, S Caden Sterns and RB Tre Watson all started.
• Against Tulsa, CB Kobe Boyce, RT Samuel Cosmi and NB Josh Thompson picked up starts.
• Fifteen Longhorns made their first career appearances against Maryland: Calvin Anderson, Kobe Boyce, Ryan Bujcevski, Anthony Cook, Samuel Cosmi, Cameron Dicker, Brennan Eagles, B.J. Foster, Keaontay Ingram, D'Shawn Jamison, Reese Leitao, Justin Mader, Joshua Moore, Caden Sterns and Tre Watson.
• Against Tulsa, Montrell Estell and Jalen Green both appeared for the first time in their careers.
Sterns And Foster
• True freshmen Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster both recorded interceptions on Saturday night against Tulsa.
• The interceptions marked the first time a Longhorn true freshman had a pick since the 2015 season when both DeShon Elliott and Holton Hill recorded interceptions.
• It was the first time two Longhorn true freshmen had an interception in the same game since Nov. 4, 1993 at Houston when Chris Carter and Bryant Westbrook each had one.
• The last time two Longhorn freshmen had interceptions in the same game was on Oct. 16, 2004 when Aaron Ross (true) and Brian Robison (redshirt) each had one against Missouri.
Sterns Starting Strong
• Caden Sterns has started each of the first two games of his career at safety. He has eight tackles (six solo) to go along with an interception and 0.5 tackle for loss thus far.
• Sterns is the first Longhorn defensive back to start a game as a true freshman since the 2016 season when Brandon Jones got the start at safety at Oklahoma State.
• He's the first true freshman defensive back at Texas to start multiple games in a season since 2015 when Holton Hill started the final eight and Davante Davis the final five.
• Sterns is the first true freshman defensive back to start each of the first two games of his career since Blake Gideon started all 13 at safety in 2008.
Watson Running Wild
• Graduate transfer running back Tre Watson has started each of the first two games for the Longhorns. He has totaled 30 carries for 126 yards while also hauling in two receptions for 17 yards.
• In Saturday's game against Tulsa, Watson put the finishing touches on the Longhorns' 28-21 victory, reeling in an 11-yard touchdown reception for his first score wearing the burnt orange.
Ingram Bursts onto The Scene
• Through two games, true freshman running back Keaontay Ingram has rushed 16 times for 101 yards (6.3 ypc) and two touchdowns. He also has four receptions for 17 yards.
• With his touchdown at Maryland, Ingram became the first Longhorn true freshman running back to score a rushing TD in his first career game since 2005, when both Jamaal Charles and Henry Melton (2) did so.
• With his second touchdown of the season against Tulsa, he became the first true freshman since Melton in 2005 to have two rushing touchdowns in his first two career games.
• In that 2005 season, Charles scored three touchdowns against Rice in the third game of the season, while Melton added one to increase his season total to three.
