Ranking Texas Football's Most Dominant Home Openers Since 2000

There's nothing like a quality performance in front of the home crowd to start the season, and here are some of the best from the Texas Longhorns over the years.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian leads players on to the field before the game against the San Jose State Spartans at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nothing gives a football team more of a confidence boost than a dominant win inside of their home confides in Week 1 of the season.

The fans get to let out eight months of passion and excitement as they watch their team implement what they've been working on all offseason and seeing it all play out in real-time situations.

And with the offseason that they had over these past few months, even non-Texas fans should be eager to see what the Longhorns have in store for the Texas State Bobcats in the first game of the season.

Even better, they should be eager to see if it will shape out like some other notable Week 1 performances that Texas has put on in recent years at DKR.

Let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?

2004 vs. North Texas, 65-0 Win

Texas Longhorn running back Cedric Benson #32 breaks a run against the Oklahoma Sooners. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Quarterback Vince Young put on an impressive performance with his 153 passing yards and single passing score, but it was running back Cedric Benson that welcomed both the Austin crowd and the North Texas Mean Green to the 2004 season.

The late Texas great torched the opposing Lone Star team for 181 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carries, and the Longhorns rushing attack produced an insane 513 yards of production as well as five touchdowns on the ground in the 65-0 shutout, getting Mack Brown and the No. 7 Horns off to a remarkable start in the year.

2024 vs. Colorado State, 52-0 Win

Texas Longhorns running back Jerrick Gibson (9) tip toes down the sidelines during the first half of a game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Exactly 20 years after their blowout over the Mean Green, the then-No. 4 Texas Longhorns put together another shutout in the form of a 52-0 win over the Colorado State Rams to start the 2024 season.

Quinn Ewers threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns on 20 completions, and Arch Manning would contribute with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown during the second half of action while receiver Matthew Golden caught three passes for 50 yards and two touchdowns.

2022 vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 52-10 Win

Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) throws a pass against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks in the second half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | USA TODAY Sports

Quinn Ewers' debut with the Texas Longhorns was a memorable one, and many believe that it put the Longhorns back on the map as one of college football's premier teams.

Eweres completed two-thirds of his passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns while running back Bijan Robinson added 111 yards from scrimmage and two total scores, giving the 94,873 attendees in Austin the beginning to the season they were expecting.

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