Horns Trample Rice in Season Opener (Slideshow)

By Tim Taliaferro in Special, Sports on September 4, 2011 at 2:33 pm | No Comments

Can’t see the slideshow? Click here.

The Texas Longhorns are back on winning track after beating the Rice Owls yesterday in their 2011 season home opener at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

The win, which many Texas fans missed because it was shown on the nascent Longhorn Network, marked 12 straight triumphant season openers and improved Texas to 13-1 in season openers under Mack Brown (read how Brown retooled the team in the off season here). It was also the 47th time in the Brown era that Texas gained 500-plus yards of total offense.

Mike Davis totaled a career-best 115 receiving yards, while quarterback Garrett Gilbert went 13-for-23 in the air for 239 yards and a touchdown.

The Texas defense held Rice to three field goals, as the Longhorns kept an opponent from reaching the end zone for the first time since the 2009 Big 12 Championship against Nebraska.

The Horns limited the Owls to 224 yards of total offense on 60 plays. Emmanuel Acho tallied a team-best 10 tackles (3 solo), while Carrington Byndom led the Horns with two tackles-for-loss.

Malcolm Brown’s 87 rushing yards marked the most for a UT freshman in his debut since Jamaal Charles in 2005.

Up next, BYU in Austin Sept. 10 on ESPN2.

Tags: garret glibert, rice owls, season opener, texas football