Sidearm Sports, Opens A New Window |

Important news happening in and around Texas Athletics compiled by Vice President and Athletics Director Chris Del Conte. [Forty Acres Insider archives]

Gracie, gracias, THANK YOU! You are such a vital part of our awesome game day environment and absolutely bring it to DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium each and every time out! It was another spirited and raucous crowd of y'all decked out in Burnt Orange & White on Saturday as the passion, pride and Texas Fight were pouring in while Coach Sark and our Horns rebounded with an emphatic 38-20 victory over West Virginia. Count 'em up, that's three-straight games of 100,000+ in the house with Hook 'Ems held high and a unified Longhorn Nation rallying as one in cheering our Horns to victory. From the suffocating defense to the X-Man launching and lassoing with a trio of TDs, it was a total team and Longhorn Family triumph. Of course, we did it all the live long day once again with the always festive pregame activities around the stadium, leading up to Nelly rocking out the Longhorn City Limits stage and amping y'all up to make it HOT in DKR!

Now it's time to get ready to head north on I-35 because you know what week it is! It's time for Texas-OU, the annual AT&T Red River Showdown at the majestic and historic Cotton Bowl, once again. Think about the gravitas of this rivalry, the great teams and players, thrilling plays and fantastic finishes, and how generations of families and friends have traveled to Dallas to witness them. It's incredible! The game was last played on Austin soil a century ago in 1923, and after a short break in the series, the rivalry was renewed around the spectacle that is the great State Fair of Texas beginning in 1929 at Fair Park Stadium, and it's been played in Dallas ever since. Y'all circle it on the calendar each and every year, and I know you're gettin' ready for some family fun, Fletcher's Corny Dogs, games, rides, fried food galore and the main course of Longhorn Football. I can't wait to see y'all there! And with ABC cranking up that early broadcast once again for our 11 a.m. CT kickoff, we're thrilled to share the day with millions tuning in around the globe for the 118th renewal of this one-of-a-kind rivalry. It's College Football's grandest of games on the most magnificent of stages!

But before we get to Big Tex and Big D, there were lots of Ws to go around last week as Volleyball and Soccer joined Football in the victory column. Fresh off a sweep over Texas Tech in Lubbock, Volleyball is back at Gregory Gym on Wednesday vs. TCU (7 pm CT/LHN) before getting a rare in-season weekend off this week. Meanwhile, Soccer shut out Baylor to remain unbeaten in the Big 12 as it readies to host Kansas State on Thursday (7 pm CT/LHN) and Kansas (1 pm CT/LHN) Sunday. We've got Men's & Women's Golf and Tennis in action, too, so there's Texas Sports aplenty and a plethora of opportunities for Texas Fight and Hook 'Em, Horns!

Football registers convincing home victory over West Virginia What can you say about that bounce back performance by Coach Sark and the team, but wow?! After heartbreak the week before, they showed their true spirit of Texas Fight by picking themselves up and coming out in spectacular fashion against a very good West Virginia squad with a resounding 38-20 victory in their Big 12 home opener. The offense was hummin', the defense was suffocating and the special teams were special in a full team win. And how about the game by our man X?! It wasn't enough for him to top the century mark in yards and haul in a couple of TDs, he took it to another level by tossing a TD on his first ever pass attempt! Just an all-around unbelievable performance! And who was on the other end of that passing TD, but JT. No, not Justin Timberlake, but the one and only JT Sanders, who not only caught that one, but also hauled in another along with his 78 yards. Once again, Mr. Card showed tremendous guts and produced one of the best performances of his career racking up over 300 yards with three TDs and zero interceptions, while Bijan was Bijan, topping the century mark in rushing yards and finding the end zone behind a great performance by that O-line. On the defense, Jaylan Ford is just a tackling machine and had his fourth-straight game in double figures, there were TFLs all over the place, and our guys held a great Mountaineer rushing attack way below its season average to just 61 yards. Meanwhile the best name, hair and leg in kicking belong to Bert Auburn who's now hit EIGHT straight with a lot of those coming outside of 40 yards. All of that added up to a 35-7 lead in the third quarter and there was no looking back on the way to the W! Now it's on to Dallas!

Before moving on, though, we certainly want to continue to send our best wishes to West Virginia running back CJ Donaldson. It was a frightening scene when he went down during the game, but we're so grateful that he seems to be on the way to recovery. The medical staffs from both teams came together and did a tremendous job, and we can't thank them enough for the care they take of our student-athletes, not only in times like that, but on a daily basis.

Come one, come all it's time for the annual Texas Fight Rally & Parade at the Tower on Thursday night Hey y'all, we'll be rallying together with Coach Sark and our Longhorns at the Tower on Thursday night! The team, the Longhorn Band, Texas Cheer & Pom, and Hook 'Em will all be on hand to get pumped up at the annual pep rally leading up to the AT&T Red River Showdown! Hosted by our friends and partners at the Texas Exes and a time-honored tradition that goes back to 1916, the Texas Fight Rally & Parade kicks off at 7:30 p.m. You can get those Horns Up watching the parade make its way down Guadalupe Street at 7:30 p.m. and then head to the Main Mall in front of the UT Tower to send the team off to Dallas in true Longhorn fashion! And the fun and festivities are F-R-E-E to y'all. For more information, visit the official Texas Fight Rally & Parade page. Can't wait to see y'all there, and let's show Coach Sark and the guys what Longhorn passion, pride and spirit is all about as they prepare to take on our longtime rivals from north of the Red River!

Roschon Johnson named semifinalist for NFF's William V. Campbell Trophy Every year the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame recognizes college football's premier student-athletes and we couldn't be prouder of the guy we have up for those honors this year in Roschon Johnson. Last week, he was tabbed a semifinalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy, an award that also celebrates its finalist as part of its annual NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. Y'all see Roschon puttin' in the work on game days, running over and by defenders, catching passes like a receiver and as the smooth operator taking the snap in our wildcat package. He's also on every special team, is such an impactful leader on our team and a tireless worker at practice and in any preparation for the games. On top of that, he's an amazing student who maintains over a 3.4 GPA in the McCombs School of Business where he'll earn his degree in business administration (management) in December, and is a pillar of the Austin community and beyond. So he's a great Student AND Athlete, exceptional football player and Coach Sark says it best: "What Roschon brings every single day is pretty incredible. He's so mature, he's got unbelievable work ethic, he's an awesome teammate. There's so much value in who he is to our program that I don't think you can say enough good things about him." We have a rich history of NFF Scholar-Athlete honorees and two winners of the Campbell Trophy in Sam Acho (2010) and Dallas Griffin (2007). Kudos to Jeff Nelson and our Football Academic Services team for all they do to help our student-athletes thrive in the classroom. And Roschon, we'll be pulling for you to bring home some hardware, Hook 'Em my friend!

Limited tickets remain for final three football home games After three consecutive crowds of over 100k at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium for the Alabama, UTSA and West Virginia games, now is the time to secure your Football tickets if you haven't already! A limited amount of tickets are still available for our next home game against Iowa State (Oct. 15). And it's not too late to get those 3-game mini plans for the remaining three Big 12 home games (Iowa State, TCU, and Baylor).

Volleyball sweeps Texas Tech, improves to 11-0 The No. 1-ranked Volleyball team went into Lubbock and swept the Red Raiders on national television on Sunday. Our Horns were tested in the third set, but came up clutch with a 26-24 win in the third frame. Madisen Skinner had a huge match and tied her season-high with 19 kills, while hitting .529 on her way to being named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, while Zoe Fleck got the nod for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. We're looking forward to seeing Coach Elliott and the squad back at the Greg on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. against TCU!

Women's Soccer prevails against Baylor Women's Soccer continued its strong start to the season with a 1-0 victory over Baylor on Friday night in Austin. Trinity Byars is just a force as she scored her Big 12 Conference leading 11th goal of the year. Wow! Meanwhile, Savannah Madden was named Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week! That upped the team's record to 8-1-3 overall and stretched its program-record Big 12 Conference regular-season unbeaten streak to 12 matches! Coach Kelly and our Horns continue their league homestand this week as they host Kansas State on Thursday, Oct. 6, and Kansas on Sunday, Oct. 9, at Mike A. Myers Stadium. We'll see you there!

Stearns wins singles title in Austin Former Women's Tennis star Peyton Stearns claimed the singles title at the International Tennis Federation pro circuit 25K tournament on Sunday, played at our very own Texas Tennis Center. Stearns dominated the championship match with a 6-1, 6-0 victory for her second career ITF singles title and first since she turned pro earlier this summer. At Texas, she was a three-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American and led the Longhorns to back-to-back NCAA team championships in 2021 and 2022. Way to go Peyton! And while we're talking tennis, best of luck to both of our programs competing at their respective ITA All-American Championships this week!

Women's Basketball to open Moody Center on Oct. 30 with a Charity Exhibition Game against DePaul You won't have to wait until Opening Night on Nov. 11 to get your first look at our Women's Basketball team inside Moody Center. Our Longhorns will host DePaul on Sunday, Oct. 30, and will be raising money for Uvalde to support rebuilding Robb Elementary in the wake of the tragedy, which took 21 innocent lives on May 24. It is our obligation as Texans to support our community, and we encourage you to come out and help us make an impact on the community in Uvalde. Tip is set for 2 p.m. Central and tickets will be priced at $10 for reserved seating and $6 for general admission. The game will support the Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation and we can't wait to see you there in Moody.

Men's Basketball launches new student section, The Corral How awesome was last Tuesday night at the Scoot Inn in East Austin? I joined the MOC, Coach Beard and our Men's Basketball team along with 500-plus UT students in a standing-room only event that launched our new student section, The Corral. As Coach consistently says, "There's a relationship in college basketball between your student section and winning." You could feel the pride and passion for The University of Texas at the event, and I can't wait to see the momentum continue to build during the preseason. Our students will get the best seats for games at Moody Center (270-degrees around the court), and there's no doubt this will be a game-changer in providing a true home-court advantage. Next up for The Corral (follow on Twitter at @TheCorralUT) is an open practice for UT students only at Moody Center on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Mental Health Awareness Week It's Mental Health Awareness Week, so I thought it would be a tremendous opportunity to share the wonderful feature our friends at LHN produced on the staff and services we have here. We place a great deal of importance on the mental health and wellbeing of our student-athletes and are here to support them any way we can. I would be remiss if I didn't give a huge shoutout to Allen Hardin, who heads up our Health and Wellness team, and Ashley Harmon and Kylie Lahey in our Behavioral Health area for all they do in providing the resources in this critical area.

This Week's Longhorns action on The 40 and beyond

• Men's Golf at Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational (Fort Worth)

• Women's Golf at Windy City Classic (Highland Park, Ill.)