Forty Acres Insider: October 25 - University of Texas Athletics

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Longhorn Nation,

We've got to start this week off with an emphatic Hook 'Em, Horns and an encore round of applause for our Big 12 Champion Soccer team. Coach Kelly and our Longhorns secured the regular season crown with a victory on Sunday, raising their conference record to a Big 12-best 6-0-2. And the coolest part now is our undefeated Horns will put the finishing touches on the regular season right here on the Forty Acres, and do it in Red River Soccer Showdown style on Thursday night at Mike A. Myers Stadium (7 p.m./LHN) to boot. It will be a must-see match, but also a night to be a part of as we'll honor the many outstanding veteran leaders of our squad with Senior Day afterwards, along with a victory lap for y'all as that Big 12 Championship trophy will be shining brightly and raised high! So, we're calling all Longhorns, let's pack the house and bring our patented pride, passion and Texas Fight as our Horns look to put over one more win! Of course, it's a Texas Tradition Night with the big fella, Bevo, on hand, and the cannon firing, too, so come join us for a festive evening and celebration of Longhorn Soccer!

Things didn't finish as well in Stillwater for our Football team in a heartbreaking game at Oklahoma State. And we'll have to wait a little longer to rally behind them as they look to bounce-back. After eight-straight weeks of action, we'll have a bye week this weekend. It's a much needed extra week to work and prepare, while resting, recuperating and getting healthy for the stretch run of Big 12 play. We'll be heading into the bye focused on rebounding and hungry to get back on the winning track after Saturday's hard-fought defeat in Stillwater. In a physical and fast-paced game filled with so many ebbs, flows and challenges, including a high-scoring first half, we just couldn't get back over the top in the end. We had the exciting 40 and 50-yard plays from Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, extraordinary special teams plays aplenty, and there were a number of strong defensive efforts, too. But not enough to pull off the win, and as Coach Sark said after the game, we had too many mistakes and missed opportunities that resulted in a game we let slip away. It was a road game, in a hostile environment against the nation's No. 11 team, and we had our chances to pull it off, but came up on the short end of a 41-34 thriller. Our team was hurting from that one, and it was a difficult trip home with a group who played their hearts out, but one thing I know about this squad is there is a whole lot of pride, leadership and resiliency in that locker room and with our coaching staff. They're already back to work and will be ready to saddle up for round nine in Manhattan against Kansas State next week.

With that said, I do need to give a huge shoutout and kudos to our team of extraordinary student-athletes as they spent their Monday of the bye week giving back in our community visiting a local elementary school. I appreciate these men so much, all they do, and the first class way they represent the Burnt Orange & White! To a man, they all showed up and set a wonderful example of love and support for our Austin community!

While Football isn't back in action until next Saturday, Nov. 5, at Kansas State, we've got so much going on this week on The Forty with Volleyball in The Greg on Wednesday vs. Texas Tech (7 p.m. CT/LHN) followed by Thursday's Soccer match. Then y'all can join us for the first time at the Moody Center to check out our new digs and our 2022-23 Men's and Women's Basketball teams Saturday and Sunday. They're both charity exhibition games with the No. 12 Men tipping things off on Saturday versus longtime Southwest Conference opponent and future SEC foe No. 10 Arkansas at 3 p.m. CT, followed by the Women welcoming in perennial top-25-contender DePaul Sunday for a 2 p.m. tilt. As a warmup for those contests, you can come on out and take in some hoops action on Wednesday with Women's Basketball's Annual Orange-White Scrimmage set for 5:30 p.m. CT at the Moody Center. Admission is free for that one and there will be a post-game autograph session, as well, so come one, come all to cheer on Coach Schaefer and your preseason No. 3-ranked Longhorn Women's Basketball team! And speaking of Women's Basketball events, if you haven't gotten your tickets for their annual Welcome Back Dinner, what are you waiting for?!

Last, but not least, a Big 12 title is on the line this week for Coach Flo and Cross Country, too, as they head to Lubbock on Friday to compete for the Big 12 Championship. There are a lot of Longhorn sports to cheer for this week as we roll toward Halloween and then turn the calendar to November next week.

Football drops a tough one at Oklahoma State
Saturday in Stillwater was a disappointing finish for all of us. After tremendous job by our Horns of building up a 31-17 lead, Oklahoma State came back on their home field to take a lead of their own with just over three minutes to go. Our guys never gave in, all the way to the last offensive play when a tipped ball deep in OSU territory made its way into the hands of a defender, they still had a chance and we all still believed they would make a comeback. In some ways it was a tale of two halves, as the offenses were controlling the game early before the defenses asserted themselves in the second half. What can you say about Bijan but that he brings an incredible performance every week, this time to the tune of 181 total yards with two explosive touchdowns, one a dazzling 42-yard rush and the other a 41-yard catch. Shoot, it was his sixth-straight 100-yard rushing game (tied for the third-longest streak in UT history), while he now has four rushes of 40 or more yards on the year and is the only player in the country with that many. And with 2,750 career rushing yards, he now ranks 10th on our all-time rushing list. Not to be outdone, our fearless leader Roschon rumbled for a 52-yard TD of his own, while X found the end zone once again for his fifth-straight game with a TD catch (tied for the fourth-longest streak in UT history). The Barron and DeMo led the way for the defense with a combined 20 tackles with 3.5 for loss, but just as they were hitting their stride in the third quarter, the injury bug started to bite that side of the ball. Despite that, the energy, effort and want to were all there, and you could see the pain in the players' eyes as the game came down to the wire in the 41-34 finish. But as Coach Sark said, there's a lot of football left to be played, and I know this group will get back up, dust themselves off and be ready for this final stretch of the season. We've got a bye this week to rest and heal up, then after that, we'll alternate road and home games for the rest of the regular season starting with the first of two trips up to the state of Kansas where we'll face the K-State Wildcats on Nov. 5. For those of you wondering, that game has been announced as a six-day selection, so we'll know our kickoff time next week and will keep you posted on TexasSports.com and our social channels.

Through 4EVER TEXAS program, Longhorns Agents of Change make community service trip, Round II to the Dominican Republic
What starts here changes the world, and that's exactly what our 4EVER TEXAS program sets out to do. It's a comprehensive and transformational development initiative designed to educate, equip and empower our student-athletes who will go on to change the world for the better. One of the three main areas of focus is being Agents of Change through community involvement and civic engagement. That's exactly what a group of our student-athletes accomplished as they traveled to the Dominican Republic in July and volunteered to help build courts for kids and spend time on a cultural exchange trip. It was Round II of our 2022 Courts for Kids effort, joining a group that traveled to Costa Rica for an international community service effort in June. And by the looks of this video, they sure did have a great time and headed back to Austin with a valuable learning opportunity to their credit, and the satisfaction of a job well done. We are so grateful for everyone who made both of these trips happen and our amazing student-athletes who put in the work, had the chance to give back, and did their part to help change the world! It's always such a joy hearing about these trips when they return!!

Women's Soccer clinches Big 12 regular season-title
Well there it is, our first Big 12 Championship of the year! Women's soccer took down Oklahoma State, 2-1, to clinch a share of the title. It is the program's first Big 12 Conference regular-season title since 2001. And for netting both goals in the victory, kudos are in order for our sensational forward Trinity Byars who earned National Player of the Week recognition once again. With the win, we stretched our unbeaten streak to a school-record 15 straight matches, dating back to Aug. 28 as well. Now we need YOU! Come out to Mike A. Myers Stadium on Thursday Oct. 27 and see the Longhorns go for the outright Big 12 Championship. It'll be Senior Day where we'll celebrate our outstanding senior class and the Big 12 Championship trophy will be on display, Bevo will be in the house and the cannon will be firing, too!

Volleyball sweeps West Virginia
Coach Elliott and our Volleyball squad bounced back from their first defeat of the season in a five-set thriller at Iowa State last week to return home and sweep West Virginia 3-0 on Saturday at Gregory Gym. They had a season-high 14 blocks and tied their season-high hitting percentage at .380. Madisen Skinner led our Horns with nine kills while hitting .444 in the match. Up next, they'll host Texas Tech tomorrow night at The Greg. We'll see you there, bringing down the house!

Men's Basketball to host Charity Exhibition Saturday
This Saturday at 3 p.m., Coach Beard and No. 12 Men's Basketball will host a charity exhibition game with No. 10-ranked Arkansas at Moody Center. All proceeds from the event will be donated to a pair of organizations supporting social justice equity and educational opportunities to youth in Central Texas communities – Seedling Foundation and Break the Pipeline. For more details, click here.

Women's Basketball to host Charity Exhibition Sunday
Coach Schaefer and No. 3 Women's Basketball will host their charity exhibition game on Sunday at 2 p.m. against DePaul at Moody Center. All tickets sales from the game will go towards the Uvalde Moving Forward Foundation to help rebuild Robb Elementary. Tickets are $6 for general admission and $10 for reserved seating. Coach Schaefer has personally pledged to donate $1,000 for every 1,000 fans in attendance!

Cross Country head to Lubbock to race for Big 12 title
Coach Flo and our Cross Country program head west to Lubbock for the 2022 Big 12 Cross Country Championships on Friday. The No. 23 Men's squad looks to make a statement with the additions of Crayton Carrozza and Cole Lindhorst in the 8K lineup, while Isaac Alonzo returns home to the course where he still holds the record in the high school 5K. Beth Ramos will lead our Women in the 6K and looks to make it nine-straight races as the top Longhorn finisher!

Tyrese Hunter named to preseason watch list for Bob Cousy Award
Ready for basketball season! Tyrese Hunter is one of 20 players named to the Bob Cousy Award watchlist. The award recognizes the top point guard in collegiate men's basketball. Hunter also earned recognition as a Preseason Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection.

Women's Golf finishes fourth at Stanford Intercollegiate Coach Murphy and Women's Golf closed the fall season with a fourth-place finish at the Stanford Intercollegiate. Angela Heo led the way for our Horns with a fourth-place individual finish with rounds of 69-69-70. Well done, Angela!

Men's Golf's Maas named to Fred Haskins Award final fall watch list
Christiaan Maas was named to the final fall watch list for the Fred Haskins Award presented by Stifel, by the Haskins Foundation. He's one of 20 players named to the list for the award that honors the top men's collegiate golfer. That calls for a big Hook 'Em Christiaan!

This Week's Longhorns action on The 40 and beyond

Monday

• Men's Golf at East Lake Cup (Atlanta, Ga.)

Tuesday:

• Men's Golf at East Lake Cup (Atlanta, Ga.)

Wednesday:

• Women's Basketball Orange-White Scrimmage (5:30 p.m. CT)

• Men's Golf at East Lake Cup (Atlanta, Ga.)

• Volleyball vs. Texas Tech (7 p.m. CT/LHN)

Thursday

• Soccer vs. Oklahoma (7 p.m. CT/LHN)

Friday

• Cross Country at Big 12 Championships (Lubbock)

• Volleyball at Kansas State (6:30 p.m. CT/ESPN+)

Saturday

• Football Bye Week

• Men's Basketball Charity Exhibition vs. Arkansas (3 p.m. CT)

Sunday

• Soccer Big 12 Championship play begins (Round Rock)

• Baseball vs. San Jacinto College (Noon CT)

• Women's Basketball Charity Exhibition vs. DePaul (2 p.m. CT/LHN)

2023 Football season ticket deposits now available!
For those looking to join us at DKR next season, season ticket deposits are now on sale! For $199 per seat, you'll get the first chance to select seats after current season ticket holders. If you've ever wanted to lock in your spot, now is the time!

Quite a story on our Football standout student-athlete Christian Jones
Oh, and while I've got you, how about our guy Christian Jones?! He's truly an amazing student-athlete. A tremendous student who completed his degree in sport management in December and is a member of our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, his back story and path to football is very unique. But now we know why our 6-foot-6, 333-pound star offensive tackle is so fleet of foot! Here's the outstanding feature on Christian from our friends at LHN, enjoy!!

Everything is Bigger in Texas
A couple weeks ago at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, we joined President Hartzell in celebrating the retirement of our iconic 100-year-old Big Bertha Drum and welcomed in Big Bertha II. You can hear all about it right here in an amazing story from Walt Maciborski and the folks at KEYE-TV/CBS Austin. It's well worth a few minutes to click on it and enjoy!

Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte

Chris Del Conte signature
Chris Del Conte

P.S. — So fired up for Sam! He's earned it and can't wait to cheer on our Longhorn Legend!!

P.S. — We are so blessed to have the annual spectacle that is F1 racing right here in our back yard each and every year. Had a blast stopping by COTA to check it out last week!