Game time, TV set for No. 9 Texas at Houston

When the No. 9 Texas Longhorns travel east on I-10 to face the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium on Oct. 21, the first matchup between the two programs since 2001, kickoff is at 3 p.m. Central on FOX, the Big 12 announced on Monday.

It’s the 26th game in the all-time series featuring the Longhorns and Cougars, with Texas holding a 16-7-2 advantage. Both teams played in the Southwest Conference from 1976 to 1995 when Texas left to form the Big 12 and Houston was relegated to Conference USA and then the American Conference. Since then, the Longhorns and the Cougars have played only three times — 2000 in Austin, 2001 in Houston, and 2002 in Austin — with Texas winning each game, part of a seven-game winning streak by the Longhorns that includes three straight wins in Houston.

The last matchup in Austin was 41-11 win by Texas keyed by quarterback Chris Simms throwing for 233 yards and two touchdowns and running back Cedric Benson running for 162 yards and a touchdown as Houston mustered only 152 total yards and threw two interceptions.

In Houston in 2001, Simms had an even better performance in the 53-26 win, throwing for 311 yards and three touchdowns as wide receiver Sloan Thomas notched four catches for 124 yards and a touchdown and running back Ivan Williams ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.

Texas sits at 5-1 this season following last Saturday’s 34-30 defeat by Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl while Houston is 2-3 in its first season in the Big 12 with an 0-2 record in conference play heading into a home matchup this weekend against West Virginia.