No. 4 Texas is a 32.5-point favorite against Colorado State

As the Texas Longhorns prepare to open the program’s inaugural season in the SEC, head coach Steve Sarkisian’s team is a 32.5-point favorite over the Colorado State Rams in next Saturday’s season opener at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Former Texas offensive coordinator Jay Norvell, who called plays for Charlie Strong in 2015 after Shawn Watson was fired after the season opener, returns to the Forty Acres for the first time since leaving Austin to take over as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Arizona State in 2016.

Since then, Norvell posted a 33-26 record over five seasons as the head coach at Nevada before taking over in Fort Collins, where he’s gone 8-16 at Colorado State, including a 5-7 record last year, setting up an important third season for Norvell with the Rams picked to finish fifth in the 12-team Mountain West.

The only previous meeting between the two programs came in 1975. Under Darrell Royal, the Longhorns opened the season at No. 12 nationally, hosting the Rams in Austin for a 46-0 win. Led by 103 rushing yards by Earl Campbell, Texas ran for 336 yards and seven touchdowns, pummeling Colorado State on the ground.