Kickoff:Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MDT.
Venue:Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 100,119).
TV:ABC.
Livestream: https://abc.com/watch-live/abc
Radio:KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM/BYU Radio Sirius XM 143.
Series:BYU leads 4-1.
Weather:Mostly cloudy skies at kickoff, with temperatures in the mid 80s and an expected high of 84. Chance of rain and scattered thunderstorms is 30%. Wind gusts from the Southeast up to 10 mph are expected.
For BYU:The Cougars own the best winning percentage over Texas in the country, with four victories and only one loss. They've won two straight over the Longhorns, including a resounding 41-7 pounding in 2014 , which was the last time BYU played in Austin. BYU was walloped 44-11 by TCU the last time it ventured into the Lone Star State, and weather conditions were similar to what are expected Saturday.
For Texas:The No. 7 Longhorns have established themselves as one of the top teams in the country , after a big win at then-No. 3 Alabama 34-24 in Week 2 and also taking No. 6 Oklahoma to the wire before falling 34-30 in Dallas.
Texas jumped out to a 21-0 lead at Houston last week before hanging on for a 31-24 victory. The Longhorns are averaging 34.4 points a game and giving up only 17.4 points per game.
Texas is the first ranked opponent the Cougars have faced in 2023. They are 7-9 against ranked teams under eight-year coach Kalani Sitake, and 2-1 against top-10 teams. All time, BYU is 32-65-1 against ranked opponents. The Cougars' last win over a ranked foe came last season when they knocked off then-No. 9 Baylor 26-20 in double overtime in Provo.
The Cougars will be without starting defensive tackle John Nelson , who sustained an undisclosed injury in the 27-14 win over Texas Tech last Saturday. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said Wednesday that star receiver Keanu Hill, who is from Bedford, Texas, is day to day with an undisclosed injury and will be a game-time decision in Austin. Hill's uncle, Roy Williams, shined for UT in the early 2000s.
For Texas, the Longhorns will go with a first-time starter at quarterback, redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy . He is filling in for Quinn Ewers , who sustained a shoulder injury against Houston. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, who played quarterback for BYU in 1995 and 1996 and led the Cougars to the Cotton Bowl, has said that five-star recruit Arch Manning has been seeing reps in practice and could also see action in the Big 12 game.
Sophomore running back Jonathon Brooks leads the Big 12 and ranks sixth in the nation in all-purpose yards, averaging 142.3 per game. This will be the 700th home game in program history for Texas, and 529th at DKR.
Texas linebacker Jaylan Ford looks for a signal from the sideline as he competes against UTSA Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, in Austin, Texas. | Stephen Spillman, Associated Press
Jaylan Ford , senior, Texas, linebacker: A lot of the pregame focus has been on the quarterbacks , but a defensive player could very well steal the show. The Big 12 preseason defensive player of the year, Ford has 46 total tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss in 2023. He's also picked off two passes. He had 2.5 tackles for loss in the win at Houston, and is the kind of playmaker who can change a game with one disruptive play. Ford and the Horns defense held Rice to just 27 rushing yards in a season-opening 37-10 win.
"For me, (Texas' ranking) just makes the sense of urgency go higher. It pushes it even more. So I don't even have to say much, other than, 'let's go and enjoy it. Let's go have some fun with this.' At the same time, the preparation doesn't happen when you just wake up on Saturday morning and get ready to play the game. It happens now. I like the mindset of our guys, our prep. We know we have to go into this game with a more sound mindset, being in a difficult place to play. Not a lot of teams can go in there and get a victory." — BYU coach Kalani Sitake.
"The second thing about coach (LaVell) Edwards that I will always keep with me is he always kept things light. He was himself. I know everybody always sees the stern face on the sidelines from back in the day. But he was a really lighthearted guy. He was really fun to be around. The players liked to be around him. I think that really goes back to having really good relationships with your players and that was something that he had when I was there as well." — Texas coach Steve Sarkisian.
BYU:at West Virginia on Nov. 4.
Texas:vs. Kansas State on Nov. 4.
Aug. 31 — BYU 14, Sam Houston 0 .
Sept. 9 — BYU 41, Southern Utah 16 .
Sept. 16 — BYU 38, Arkansas 31 .
Sept. 23 — Kansas 38, BYU 27 .
Sept. 29 — BYU 36, Cincinnati 27 .
Oct. 14 — TCU 44, BYU 11 .
Oct. 21 — BYU 27, Texas Tech 14 .
Oct. 28 — at Texas, 2:30 p.m. MDT, ABC.
Nov. 4 — at West Virginia (TBA).
Nov. 11 — vs. Iowa State (TBA).
Nov. 18 — vs. Oklahoma (TBA).
Nov. 25 — at Oklahoma State (TBA).
BYU coach Kalani Sitake greets fans before the start of their game against Texas Tech Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Provo, Utah. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press
