Forty Acres Insider: October 14

Chris Del Conte head shot 2025

Longhorn Nation,

The PRIDE AND WINNING TRADITION of The University of Texas will not be entrusted to the weak or the timid! Saturday at the Cotton Bowl truly epitomized that as Longhorn Nation rallied as one in the 121st edition of the Allstate Red River Rivalry. There is nothing like seeing the pure elation on Coach Sark, our team and all of your faces as that Golden Hat made its celebratory lap. The scene on the field, Texas Fight in the locker room and The Eyes of Texas throughout the stadium (half empty I must add!) was absolutely unforgettable.

spot the QB 👀#HookEm pic.twitter.com/kUOdLBpSs1
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) October 11, 2025

It was an epic 23-6 win over an outstanding and undefeated No. 6-ranked Oklahoma squad that entered the game with the nation's top-ranked defense. After a tough week our Horns picked themselves up, got back on the horse and never flinched. They dug in. They battled with Texas Fight. They wore down the Sooners in relentless fashion and delivered a Red River triumph for the ages — one that saw us keep OU out of the end zone for the second straight year and three of the last four meetings. And what a glorious scene it was as our soon-to-be College Football Hall of Famer Michael Huff delivered the coveted trophy. It's a day we'll remember — a great time to be a Longhorn — with that Golden Hat sitting proudly in our football offices, a testament to a job well done. And get this, if you need some mid-week mojo you can watch a re-air of the game on Thursday at 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network!

And while we're beaming with pride and puffing our chests out at the ol' water cooler this week (and rightfully so) after back-to-back wins over the Sooners (for the first time since 2008-09 to boot!), Coach Sark and the team embraced the 24-hour rule. They took in the spoils of victory that our iconic rivalry game and Texas State Fair surrounding it provides, then got back to work and are locked in on another SEC showdown. Next Up: at Kentucky on Saturday (6 p.m. CT/ESPN). Onward and upward folks for our squad that reclaimed its rightful place back in the Top 25 this week! KEEP THOSE HORNS UP!!

Another week, another game 🤘 pic.twitter.com/TzO1wzeaxc
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) October 13, 2025

Speaking of victories, let's hear it for Coach Elliott and Volleyball — who put over two more wins last week and are one of the nation's last two undefeated programs! It took some big-time Texas Fight to remain perfect as it required all we had and every ounce of your energy behind us at Gregory Gym last Wednesday in a five-set thriller over No. 17 Tennessee. Talk about stepping up to the challenge, that was our NINTH win over a top-25-ranked opponent this year. Our Horns followed with a 3-1 victory at Alabama on Sunday, improving to 14-0 on the year and 6-0 in the SEC. What our squad has done on the road is truly incredible as the Bama win keeps our unblemished 11-0 all-time mark in SEC road matches alive & well in our two years in the league. How about that folks?! Now it's time to pack the house, raise the roof and cheer them on this week. We'll be back at The Greg against Arkansas on Friday (6:30 p.m. CT/SEC Network+) and our Red River Rivals from Oklahoma on Sunday (7:30 p.m. CT/ESPN). See y'all there!

anotha one 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/U99PuDpv9A
— Texas Volleyball (@TexasVolleyball) October 12, 2025

Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving got a pair of wins at Alabama last weekend and we're back at it in a whole lot of sports — home and away — again this week. Soccer takes on Georgia at Mike A. Myers Stadium on Thursday (7 p.m. CT/SEC Network+) then travels to Oklahoma on Sunday to face the Sooners (2 p.m. CT/SEC Network+). Defending National Champions Softball hosts more Fall Ball action vs. McLennan on Tuesday (6 p.m. CT) and Texas A&M on Friday (7 p.m. CT) at Red & Charline McCombs Field. Our Men's and Women's Cross Country, Golf and Tennis programs are all in action on the road this week, too.

this week's calendar🤘#HookEm | @seatgeek pic.twitter.com/oCSn9ou5hZ
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) October 13, 2025

Hoops season's tipoff is quickly approaching y'all and our Longhorns will be heading off to Birmingham for SEC Media Days later today to talk about it. Your Horns are taking center stage this afternoon — you can tune in to catch Coach Miller, Dailyn Swain and Chendall Weaver on the SEC Network set at 4:05 p.m. CT, while Coach Schaefer, Madison Booker, Rori Harmon and Kyla Oldacre will be on the SEC Network set at 5:05 p.m. CT. And you can take in some Women's Basketball preseason hoops later this week with the Orange-White scrimmage on Sunday (4 p.m. CT) in Moody Center as well.

Hey, and while I've got you, this is an absolute must watch if you haven't seen it. Talk about What Starts Here, our sensational young defensive star Colin Simmons is so much more than a football player. What an incredible why he has each and every time he lines up on the field and represents his family! Thank you to Tom Rinaldi and FOX's Big Noon Kickoff for sharing Colin and his family's heartwarming story.

Rolling on the Red River
The Eyes of Texas could be heard all the way in Austin from the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, as our Horns put their Texas Fight on full display with a resounding 23-6 win in the Allstate Red River Rivalry. You belted it out with all your hearts after Coach Sark and the squad played their hearts out! With all the sights, the sounds and the smells, that game is one of the best things in all of college football and walking out of that classic setting with that Golden Hat held high is even better! It was complimentary football at its finest from defense to offense to special teams. The defense set the tone, just as my guy Mookie likes to say, by not letting them in our paint, and that was for the second-straight year! A pair of first-half INTs by our resident SEC Defensive Player of the Week Malik Muhammad helped insure that, along with our SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week Colin Simmons and Co. getting into the backfield on the regular. In all, Oklahoma would be limited to only 258 total yards, including just 88 in the second half, after coming into the game averaging 415.2 yards per and 33.8 points per game. The offense started rolling in the second half as Arch connected with D-Mo on a little improv, and "call me Quintrevion" started rumbling down the field behind that big offensive line. Then my favorite name on the team, Ryan Niblett, did more than nibble, he took a whole 75-yard bite all the way to the house on a punt return and was named Co-SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. Let me tell you, it was just so inspiring to see the joy in the faces of the guys after things didn't turn out the way they wanted last week. But now it's on to the next, and we turn our attention from crimson to blue (bluegrass that is) for an always challenging SEC night contest on the road (6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET/ESPN). We'll need all of your support either in Kentucky or from wherever you'll be because this conference brings it every week!

Monday Morning Highlights ☕🎥

Golden Hat Edition 🤘 pic.twitter.com/1egZXtwdD4
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) October 13, 2025

Keeping what's ours 🤘 pic.twitter.com/POPtzP7ZTr
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) October 11, 2025

Volleyball improves to 14-0 to start the season!
In our 47th-STRAIGHT SELLOUT AT THE GREG, our No. 2 Longhorns downed their ninth ranked opponent of the season in last Wednesday's five-set thriller over No. 17 Tennessee. Thank you again Longhorn Nation, as that electric atmosphere proved to be the difference in the deciding fifth set! Torrey Stafford went off with a career-high 30 kills, eight digs, three aces and two blocks. Talk about an all-around player! Let's not forget about Ella Swindle who dished out a career-high 48 assists, while freshman Cari Spears recorded her first collegiate double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs. The Longhorns took their winning ways on the road and came away with a gritty four-set victory at Alabama on Sunday. Texas had four different hitters post double-digit kills, as Stafford again led the team with 17 kills and was one dig shy of registering her seventh double-double of the year. The grind of SEC play continues with a pair of home matches this week, so come pack The Greg on Friday against Arkansas (6:30 p.m. CT/SEC Network+) and again on Sunday night against Oklahoma (7:30 p.m. CT/ESPN). See y'all there!

✌️➡️🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/TvaYhOGMOm
— Texas Volleyball (@TexasVolleyball) October 13, 2025

Men's Golf's Maas, Bennett lead South Africa to World Amateur Team Champs title
Longhorn Nation, last week we told you about Farah O'Keefe leading Team USA to the Women's World Amateur Team Championship in Singapore. Well folks, this past week it was the men's turn on the same course and boy-oh-boy did our three current Longhorns who participated in the prestigious event make themselves right at home! Senior Christiaan Maas and sophomore Daniel Bennett paired together to lead South Africa to the team crown with an eight-shot victory over runner-up Australia. This marked the first team title for South Africa in tournament history, as its previous best finish was a silver medal in 1980. Not only did he help his native country claim the team championship, but Maas became the first player from South Africa and first from the African continent to capture the individual title with a four-round score of 22-under 266 (66-66-65-69). And get this, Christiaan WON BY TEN STROKES. His score of 266 tied the second-lowest individual mark in championship history, and Christiaan joined some pretty impressive company that had previously won the event including Jack Nicklaus (1960), Rickie Fowler (2008), Jon Rahm (2014) and Cameron Davis (2016). But it wasn't all about Christiaan. All three Longhorns placed in the top 10 of the final individual standings, as sophomore Eduardo Derbez Torres (Mexico) tied for sixth at 8-under 280 (69-78-64-69) and Daniel Bennett finished in a tie for eighth in the 108-player field at 7-under 281 (73-69-67-72). Eduardo helped Team Mexico earn a fourth-place result in the team standings, marking the country's first top-five finish at the event since earning silver in 2012. Talk about getting it done on the world stage!

congrats to our guys Christiaan Maas & Daniel Bennett and Team South Africa🤘🇿🇦

TEAM CHAMPIONS 🏆
2025 World Amateur Team Championship #TakeDeadAim | #watc2025

📸 courtesy @IGFGolf pic.twitter.com/uwwa0Fdv1B
— Texas Men's Golf (@TexasMGolf) October 11, 2025

Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte

P.S. — THANK YOU Big D!

all this for us???? 🤘😍#HookEm pic.twitter.com/brR5fNCjbS
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) October 12, 2025

P.S. — Dear Longhorn Nation, WE LOVE YOU!

couldn't have done it without you, Longhorn Nation 🤝🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/yPf1M0P29O
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) October 12, 2025

P.S. — We See Ya Tara, What Starts Here!

what starts here changes the 🌍@tar___ruh and @athlos put on a show and took on Times Square 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/UWnE9GtZD2
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC) October 10, 2025

P.S. — Great seeing these Longhorn Legends back in The Greg last week!