The Texas Longhorns are recharged and energized coming out of their bye week and now set their sights on the 3–3 Houston Cougars. The last time these two teams went head-to-head, the current Longhorns starting quarterback wasn’t even born yet. Quinn Ewers, born in 2003, came a whole year after the last matchup between the Cougars and the Longhorns.
The two teams met for the first time in 1953, with Houston traveling to the Forty Acres only to be handed a 28-7 loss by the Longhorns. While the opponents saw each other again in 1968 in Austin, ending in a 20-20 tie, it wasn’t until 1976 that the teams would start seeing each other on an annual basis. Out of the 20 games played between then and 1996, the Cougars have only won three times on their own turf.
Texas joined the Big 12 conference in 1996, meaning their yearly matchup with fellow southwest conference member Houston would end. Since the departure, the Longhorns have faced the Cougars a grand total of three times, with the latest being in 2002. That year, Houston traveled to Austin and lost in a 41-11 rout against a then-No. 3 ranked Texas, coached by Mack Brown, who ended up sending the team to their third Big 12 title game.
The last time Texas traveled to H-Town happened a year prior in 2001. The Longhorns took care of business in a game where then-quarterback Chris Simms threw for over 300 yards and accounted for three touchdowns in front of a crowd of nearly 32,000 fans. The final score read 53-26 and the Longhorns went on to finish the season ranked within the AP top 10 at No. 5.
The last seven games have been wins for Texas, making the all-time record between both schools 16-7-2. This season, the Cougars are undefeated at home, however, a No. 8 Texas team will be their toughest test of the season so far.
The largest margin of victory against Houston for the Longhorns came in 1982, where they completed a shutout and won by a score of 50-0. On the other hand, Houston’s largest margin of victory happened in 1988, where the Cougars won 66-15.
With Houston coming off its first Big 12 win, the momentum to overcome a hurdle as big as Texas will definitely be heightened, especially with it being a home game for the Cougars. If Texas hopes to contend for a national championship at the end of the season, the Longhorns will have to win out the rest of the season and claim their first conference championship in 14 years. This is the first year Houston calls the Big 12 home and seeing as Texas will be leaving the conference next year for the SEC, this may be the last matchup for the foreseeable future.
