No. 11 Texas is a 35-point favorite against Rice

The Texas Longhorns are currently 35-point favorites in the season opener against the Rice Owls set for Sept. 2 at Darrel K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, according to DraftKings.* Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. Central on FOX.

Ranked No. 11 in the AP preseason poll and No. 12 in the Coaches poll, Texas is picked to win the conference in the Big 12 preseason media poll as head coach Steve Sarkisian enters a critical third season on the Forty Acres ahead of next year’s highly-anticipated move to the SEC.

Rice is picked to finish 12th in the 14-team AAC after a 5-8 record in 2022 that included four straight losses to end the season under head coach Mike Bloomgren, who enters his sixth season leading the Owls with a 16-39 overall record.

In the all-time series between the former SWC opponents, Texas leads 74-21-1 and currently holds a 15-game winning streak — the last win by the Owls over the Longhorns came in 1994 and represents the only victory for Rice in the series since 1965.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.