Rice @ Texas preview

Rice at Texas

Last Meeting ( Sep 3, 2011 ) Rice 9, Texas 34

Texas coach Charlie Strong changed play callers Tuesday in hopes of fixing the Longhorns' anemic offense ahead of Saturday's meeting with visiting Rice. Wide receivers coach Jay Norvell, who joined the Texas staff in 2015 after seven years at Oklahoma, takes over the role for quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson.

"What was key is we have to get this program back on track," Strong said after practice Tuesday. "There's no reason for us to go out and perform at the level we've been performing." The Longhorns enter the week ranked last nationally in total offense and have scored a combined 20 points in the past three games - losses to TCU and Arkansas to end 2014 and the 38-3 loss at Notre Dame last week. Strong did not name a starting quarterback but said Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard will both play. Rice senior quarterback Driphus Jackson tallied 202 yards and two scores in last week's 56-16 win against Wagner.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Longhorn Network. LINE: Texas -15.5

ABOUT RICE (1-0): Jackson went 10-of-19 for 123 yards and rushed 13 times for 79 yards, although coach David Bailiff would like his quarterback to run less. The Owls totaled 401 yards and seven scores on the ground in the win, led by Austin Walter's 107 yards and one TD. Darik Dillard (93 yards) and Luke Turner (21 yards) each rushed for two touchdowns as the Owls averaged 7.4 yards per rush.

ABOUT TEXAS (0-1): Swoopes went 7-of-22 for 93 yards and rushed for 17 yards in the loss while Heard had one pass attempt and rushed twice for minus-12 yards. Running back Johnathan Gray had just eight carries for 40 yards, and Strong said Monday he would like to see the senior get between 15 and 25 touches. Freshman linebacker Malik Jefferson (nine tackles, 2.5 for loss) and the Texas defense will need to be ready for the run-heavy Owls after allowing 527 total yards to the Irish.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Texas has outscored Rice by an average 29.3 points during its current 12-game win streak.

2. Norvell, who was Oklahoma's co-offensive coordinator between 2011-14, was last the sole play-caller in 2007 while at UCLA.

3. Texas (21) and Rice (19) ranked fourth and seventh, respectively, with the most freshmen and redshirt freshmen playing in the first game of the season.

PREDICTION: Texas 27, Rice 17