Five months ago, Augie Garrido and his Longhorns sat through Selection Sunday for the NCAA tournament with great disappointment. After not making the tournament for the first time since 1998, the team is back and once again ready to get on the field.

Sunday marks the first fall game for Texas as it takes on Sam Houston State right here in Austin. While fall practice started last month, this is the first chance the team has to prove it has changed from last year. For the team, this wasn’t a rebuilding year but just another year to get back on track.

This is also the first fall game for Sam Houston State as it gets ready for the season this spring. Last year the Bearkats went 40-22, 26-10 in conference play and didn’t make it through the NCAA Regional tournament. As they come to Austin with a plan to further their post-season play, the BearKats come with a mindset to upset the Longhorns.

As the Longhorns set their goals for the season, the team that went 30-22 last season wants to use this game to work on those goals. They hope to come out of the weekend with their first win of the year and high hopes of good things to come as the Longhorns continue to turn their play around from last year’s disappointing results.