The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Alabama
No. RV/18 Football preview: No. 1 Alabama
09.05.2022 | Football
The Longhorns will host Alabama for the first time since 1922.
Texas (1-0) vs. Alabama (1-0)
September 10, 2022
Where: Austin, Texas
Stadium: Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium
Time: 11:00 a.m. CT
TV: FOX (Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft)
Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network (Craig Way, Roger Wallace, Will Matthews)
Spanish Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network (Dr. Rubén Pizarro-Silva, Jesus Mendoza)
THE OPENING KICKOFF
• The University of Texas continues its 130th season of football on Saturday when the Longhorns face No. 1 Alabama for the 10th all-time meeting.
• Texas will host the top-ranked team in the nation for the third time in program history.
• The Longhorns are 1-1 in previous home matchups against the No. 1 team in the nation, defeating SMU, 23-20, in 1950 and falling to Ohio State, 24-7, in 2006.
• The Horns have played the No. 1 team 16 times in program history, sporting a 5-11 record in those games, including a 2-2 mark over the last four games.
• Texas has an all-time home record of 50-47-4 (.515) against ranked opponents.
• Texas currently boasts 929 all-time wins, tied for the fourth-most in college football history. UT holds an all-time record of 929-385-33 (.702).
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
• Texas holds a 7-1-1 advantage over Alabama in the all-time series and will face the Crimson Tide for the first time since the 2010 BCS Championship Game.
• Texas and Alabama will play just their fourth regular-season game and the first since 1922. The last two meetings took place in Austin (1915, 1922), with the first taking place in Tuscaloosa in 1902.
• Of the nine previous games between the Horns and Tide, five have taken place in the Lone Star State with Texas holding a 4-0-1 advantage.
A TEXAS WIN WOULD ...
• Be Texas' 930th victory all-time, the fourth-winningest program in college football history.
• Give Steve Sarkisian his 53rd victory as a head coach.
• Mark the Longhorns' sixth all-time win versus the No. 1-ranked team in the AP Poll and the first since defeating Oklahoma in 2008.
• Improve UT's all-time record against teams currently in the SEC to 192-93-9.
• Give Texas a 13-4-1 all-time record versus the teams from the state of Alabama. Texas has faced Alabama (7-1-1) and Auburn (5-3).
Sarkisian Era Enters Second Season
• Texas Football Head Coach Steve Sarkisian begins his second season at the helm of the Longhorns and his ninth season as a head coach overall.
• Last season, the Texas offense ranked 18th in the nation and second in the Big 12 Conference with 35.5 points per game, the third-straight top-18 scoring output for a Sarkisan-led offense.
• The offensive showing also marked the eighth top-30 scoring offense in Sarkisian's career.
• Bijan Robinson rushed for 1,127 yards in 2021, marking the 10th consecutive year a Sarkisian coached offense has had a 1,000-yard rusher.
Finding the End Zone
• In the Longhorns' season opener against ULM, Keilan Robinson returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, D'Shawn Jamison returned an interception for a score and the Texas offense scored three rushing and two passing touchdowns.
• It marked the first time since the season opener against Maryland in 2017 that Texas scored a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams.
• In the 2017 game, Holton Hill had a 31-yard interception return and returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown, and Reggie Hemphill-Mapps scored on a 91-yard punt return. Shane Buechele added a pair of touchdown passes to Armanti Foreman and Collin Johnson and ran in for another score.
Heisman Hopeful: Bijan Robinson
• Texas has a strong Heisman tradition when it come to the running back position with two of the greats - Earl Campbell (1977) and Ricky Williams (1998) hailing from the Forty Acres.
• Additionally, the Longhorns have had 10 running backs or fullbacks place in the Top-10 in Heisman Trophy voting, most recently D'Onta Foreman in 2016.
• Current Big 12 Conference programs have produced five Heisman Trophy Winners from the running back/tailback position: Campbell, Williams, Billy Vessels (1952), Billy Simms (1978) and Barry Sanders (1988).
• The last three running backs named as the Heisman Trophy winner have been sophomores or juniors: Reggie Bush (2005), Mark Ingram (2009) and Derrick Henry (2015).
Robinson By the Numbers
• Bijan Robinson has a history of not only making people miss and getting the tough yards, but also breaking big plays as both a rusher and receiver. For his career, Robinson has 27 plays (20 rushes/7 receptions) of 20-plus yards and that includes six of 50 or more (all runs).
• This offseason, Robinson focused on maintaining his speed for 90 yards (instead of the 40-yard dash), and was clocked at 22.3 mph on the GPS.
• Over his last 13 games, his ratio of long plays is even more impressive. During that time, he has 22 plays (16 rushes/6 receptions) of 20-or-more yards, including four runs of 50-plus. He's accomplished that in just 258 plays (224 rushes/34 receptions) in that 13-game span, or a play of 20-plus yards on average about every 12 plays.
• In 10 games last season, he had 12 plays (9 rushes/3 receptions) of 20-or-more yards, including two of 50-plus, with five touchdowns.
Climbing the Charts
• Robinson's 71 rushing yards against ULM brought his career total to 1,901 yards, six yards behind Sam Ehlinger for 20th on UT's all-time rushing list and 99 yards shy of becoming the 20th Longhorn to reach the 2,000 yard mark.
• Robinson is averaging 6.5 yards per carry for his career (1,901 yards/291 carries), the best mark among Texas running backs in UT's all-time Top-55 rushing list and trailing only QB Vince Young's mark of 6.8 ypc (3,127 yards/457 carries).
All About Zay
• Sophomore WR Xavier Worthy opened his 2022 campaign with a solid outing against ULM, hauling in a pair of passes for 24 yards and returning three punts for 33 yards, including a career-long 21-yard effort.
• His 24 receiving yards brought his career total to 1,005 for his career, while his two receptions extended his streak to 13-straight games with a reception to start his career.
• Worthy was a dynamic performer last season on the Forty Acres, smashing decades-old Texas records and setting a new standard for Longhorn freshmen.
• In 2021, Worthy established Texas freshman single-season receiving records for receptions (62), yards (981) and touchdowns (12), while also holding the top single-game marks for receptions (14), yards (261) and touchdowns (3, twice).
• He was named the Big 12 Conference's Offensive Freshman of the Year and earned All-Big 12 First Team honors, the only freshman among the conference's first- and second-team selections.
• Worthy was the sixth Longhorn to earn the league's offensive freshman of the year honors and the first since Colt McCoy in 2006.
• He joined Caden Sterns (2018) as the only Longhorn freshmen to earn both the conference's highest freshman honor and be named to the first team in the same season.
• His strong season earned him a finalist nod for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award and a semifinalist honor for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.
Quinn in Command
• Redshirt freshman QB Quinn Ewers made his first career start and his Longhorn debut against ULM, guiding the Texas to a season-opening 52-10 victory.
• The transfer from Ohio State completed 16-of-24 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns. After throwing an interception on his second career passing attempt, he bounced back to connect on eight- straight passes and nine of 10, guiding Texas to four touchdowns, a field goal and a field goal attempt on his
next six drives. The stretch included a 19-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Tavion Sanders and a 43-yard completion to Casey Cain.
• Ewers' 225 passing yards were the third-most since 1950 for a freshman starting in the season opener, trailing Shea Morenz's 347 (1993) and Shane Buechele's 280 (2016).
DeMarvion is Dialed In
• LB DeMarvion Overshown has played in 39 games and made 23 starts during his collegiate career.
• A Butkus Award semifinalist in 2021, Overshown racked up 74 tackles (38 solo) with 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.
• During his career, he has recorded 153 tackles (87 solo), 20.5 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, 12 pass breakups, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, three recovered and one block punt.
• Last season at Baylor, Overshown had a team-high two pass breakups while collecting five tackles (three solo).
• Totaled four tackles (one solo) against Oklahoma State before leaving early in the second half with an injury.
• Against Oklahoma, the Arp, Texas native had eight tackles (five solo) with two tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and his first career blocked punt.
• In Texas' victory over TCU, Overshown registered 10 tackles, including a career-best eight solo tackles, for his second game of 10 or more tackles on the season.
• He collected a team-high eight tackles against Arkansas, the second-straight game in which he has led the team in tackles.
• In UT's season-opening win over Louisiana, Overshown registered a career-best 13 tackles (4 solo), while also picking up a half sack for a loss of four yards.
• Overshown recorded 21 tackles in the first two games of the season, the most tackles for a Longhorn in the first two contests of the season since Cedric Reed had 24 in 2013.
Jamison Turns on the Jets
• Super senior DB D'Shawn Jamison is one of the most electrifying returners in school history, and a threat to score anytime he touches the football.
• He showcased his dynamic skill-set in the 2022 season opener against ULM, blocking the first punt of the game, which led to a touchdown, then intercepting a pass in the third quarter and returning it 69 yards for the first defensive touchdown of his career - the 14th- longest interception return for a touchdown in Texas Football history.
• His blocked punt made him the first Longhorn to have both a punt return for a touchdown and a blocked punt in his career.
• Jamison's interception return for a score was the fourth non-offensive touchdown of his career, adding to his two career kickoff return scores and a punt return. The number is tied for second in UT history with Aaron Ross (three punt returns, one fumble return) and Jordan Shipley (three punt returns and one kickoff return). Michael Huff holds the Texas record with five (four interception returns, one fumble return).
• For his career, Jamison ranks fourth in program history in kick returns (54) and kick return yards (1,435), while his current average 26.5 yards per return stands as the second-best in UT history.
• In 2021, he returned 19 kicks for 424 yards (22.3 ypr) and 12 punts for 105 yards (8.8 ypr).
• The defensive back intercepted his first pass of the season against Oklahoma State, the fourth pick of his career and first since 2019.
• At TCU, he had three tackles (two solo) and recovered a fumble in the first quarter, the second fumble recovery of his career and first since 2019 against Oklahoma.
• Jamison moved into fourth on UT's all-time kick return yardage list with a pair of 36-yard returns at TCU, giving him 1,155 yards for his career at that time.
Flo Rida to perform postgame show at Longhorn City Limits!
International hip-hop artist Flo Rida will perform at Longhorn City Limits presented by Still Austin Whiskey following the Texas-Alabama game on September 10! Located on the LBJ Lawn, the concert is FREE admission for all fans and will take place approximately 30 minutes after the football game.
With over 100 million records sold worldwide, Flo Rida has entertained crowds with an onslaught of hits since his 2008 debut album Mail on Sunday. His breakout single "Low" featuring T-Pain broke the record for digital download sales at the time of its release and was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks. His subsequent albums produced hit singles including "Right Round", "Good Feeling", "Wild Ones", "Whistle", "I Cry", "Club Can't Handle Me", and "My House". To date, Flo Rida is one of the most streamed artists of all-time with over 6.5 billion streams on Spotify alone.
ESPN College GameDay is back on the Forty Acres!
Join Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, and David Pollack for ESPN College GameDay LIVE from the LBJ Lawn. The broadcast, which will air from the LBJ Lawn from 8-10 a.m., is FREE admission for all fans. Saturday's game marks the 19th time that College GameDay has attended a Longhorn game and the first time in Austin since 2019.
FOX Big Noon Kickoff heads to Austin for the first time!
All fans are invited to attend FOX Big Noon Kickoff LIVE at Hook 'Em Hangout beginning at 9 a.m. prior to the Texas-Alabama game. The national broadcast features Rob Stone, Brady Quinn, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Urban Meyer and will feature FREE giveaways! This marks the first time Big Noon Kickoff has televised LIVE from Austin.
Pregame activities start at 8 a.m. on September 10
Tailgate with the best pregame experience in the country with Bevo Blvd presented by H-E-B, Smokey's Midway, and Hook 'Em Hangout all opening at 8 a.m. on September 10. Bevo Blvd will be bigger than ever with featured elements including the Nissan Heisman House and the American Cornhole League tour coming out on September 10. In addition, Texas Men's Basketball will be signing autographs beginning at 9:50 a.m.
Celebrating the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup at halftime
At halftime of the Texas-Alabama game, Texas Athletics will celebrate winning the 2021-22 LEARFIELD Directors' Cup with a special recognition on the field. This historic accomplishment marks the second consecutive season that the Longhorns have won, breaking Stanford's 25-year stronghold on the competition last year and now joins the Cardinal as the only programs to win it in back-to-back years.
Record-Setting Season Ticket Sales
• Texas Football season ticket sales for the 2022 season have broken an all-time record, eclipsing the previous record of 63,279 set in 2019. Thus far, nearly 8,000 new season tickets have been purchased leading into Coach Steve Sarkisian's second season at the helm of the Longhorns.
• The 2022 home schedule, featuring seven home games for the first time since 2010, is highlighted by a marquee non-conference home game with future Southeastern Conference foe Alabama on Sept. 10. It will mark only the second time the Longhorns and Crimson Tide will meet in Austin and the first time since 1922.
• The only way to secure tickets to the Alabama game is by purchasing season tickets. Due to high demand, there will be no general public single game ticket sales for this premier early season matchup.
• Fans looking for other ticket options can also take advantage of Three-Game Mini Plans, FLEX passes, and group tickets which do not include the Alabama game. Season tickets, Mini Plans, and FLEX passes can be purchased online at TexasSports.com/tickets. Groups of 20 or more can call 512-471-3333 to purchase discounted group ticket pricing.
The Best Pregame Experience in the Country
• Texas Athletics welcomes all fans to come down and celebrate gameday with the return of Bevo Blvd presented by H-E-B, Smokey's Midway, Longhorn City Limits presented by Still Austin Whiskey, and Hook 'Em Hangout.
• The action kicks off at 2 p.m. and all areas are free to attend for all fans. No game ticket is required.
• Bevo Blvd is the place to be at 4 p.m. when Bevo arrives as fans line the street along with the Longhorn Band and Texas Cheer and Pom for the Bevo Parade presented by Texas Farm Bureau Insurance.
• Shortly after, greet the team as they arrive on the north end of Bevo Blvd at 4:30 p.m. for the Stadium Stampede.
• Fans looking for Austin's best food trucks and craft beer selections can head to Hook 'Em Hangout Located in Winship Circle on the northwest side of the stadium, Fans can also enjoy a bigger Big Beertha with more taps featuring 15+ beers as well as large LED screens to watch the best games from around the country. Happy hour pregame pricing returns and is exclusive to Bevo Blvd, Smokey's Midway, Longhorn City Limits, and Hook 'Em Hangout. These areas will close at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
