Texas Kickoff

The Texas Kickoff was an annual college football game played on the opening weekend of the college football season in Houston, Texas, at NRG Stadium. The game was sponsored by Advocare from 2013 to 2019 and known officially as the Advocare Texas Kickoff and by Good Sam in 2021 as the Good Sam Texas Kickoff.[1] Due to flooding in Houston from Hurricane Harvey, the 2017 game was relocated to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome (now Caesars Superdome) in New Orleans where the Louisiana Kickoff has been held since 2022.

Texas Kickoff
StadiumNRG Stadium (2013–2016, 2018–2019, 2021)
Mercedes-Benz Superdome (2017)
LocationHouston, Texas (2013–2016, 2018–2019, 2021)
New Orleans, Louisiana (2017)
Operated2013–2016, 2018–2019, 2021
Sponsors
2021 matchup
Texas Tech 38, Houston 21

Game results
SeasonDateWinnersRunners-upAttendanceTelevisionTV ViewersSource
2013 August 31, 2013 No. 13 Oklahoma State21 Mississippi State3 35,874 ABC/ESPN2 2.162M [2]
2014 August 30, 2014 No. 13 LSU28 No. 14 Wisconsin24 71,599 ESPN 4.680M [3]
2015 September 5, 2015 Texas A&M38 No. 15 Arizona State17 66,308 ESPN 2.471M [4]
2016 September 3, 2016 No. 15 Houston33 No. 3 Oklahoma23 71,016 ABC 5.713M [5]
2017 September 2, 2017 No. 13 LSU27 BYU0 53,826 ESPN 1.763M [6]
2018 September 1, 2018 Ole Miss47 Texas Tech27 40,333 ESPN 1.929M [7]
2019 September 14, 2019 No. 20 Washington State31 Houston24 40,523 ESPN 2.072M [8]
2020 Game cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. Originally Baylor v Ole Miss.[9]
2021 September 4, 2021 Texas Tech38 Houston21 43,478 ESPN 0.871M [10]

Rankings are from the AP Poll. TV viewers are from Sports Media Watch.[11]

2013

The 2013 AdvoCare Texas Kickoff was the inaugural event in the series and matched the unranked Mississippi State Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) against the No. 13 Oklahoma State Cowboys of the Big 12 Conference on August 31, 2013 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The Cowboys decisively defeated the Bulldogs 21–3.

2014

The second edition of the Kickoff featured the No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference and the No. 13 LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and was played on August 30, 2014 at NRG Stadium in Houston. This became official when school officials from the participating teams agreed to play in this kickoff classic on August 23, 2013. It was the third time the Badgers and Tigers met on the football field, with the Tigers prevailing 28–24.

2015

The 2015 matchup between Texas A&M of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Arizona State of the Pac-12 Conference was announced on November 22, 2013. Heading into the game, Texas A&M was unranked while Arizona State was ranked 15th in the preseason AP poll. The game was close through three quarters, with the Aggies outscoring the Sun Devils 21–3 in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

2016

The fourth edition of the Kickoff featured the No. 15 Houston Cougars of the American Athletic Conference and the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners of the Big 12 Conference, and was played on September 3, 2016 at NRG Stadium in Houston. The game was publicly announced on September 8, 2014. At game time, Houston was under consideration for Big 12 membership along with several other schools. The Big 12 chose not to expand several weeks later after Houston beat Oklahoma 33–23. The Sooners went on to win the Big 12 title with a 9-0 conference record becoming the first Advocare Texas Kickoff participant to win its conference. The game featured a rare "kick six" as Houston defensive back Brandon Wilson returned a missed field goal 110 yards for a touchdown.[12]

2017

On January 8, 2015 the Advocare Texas Kickoff announced that the LSU Tigers would face the BYU Cougars on September 2, 2017 at NRG Stadium. However, due to the tremendous flooding from Hurricane Harvey hitting the Houston metro area, the game was relocated to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Tigers shut out the Cougars 27–0.

2020

The 2020 game was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The game was to be played between Baylor of the Big 12 Conference and Ole Miss from the SEC.[13]

2021

The 2021 game was between Texas Tech of the Big 12 Conference and Houston of the American Athletic Conference. Texas Tech won the game 38–21 after being down 7–21 at halftime.[14]

Future Games
Season Date Matchup
2027 TBA LSU Tigers Houston Cougars

[15]

Records

By team
RankTeamAppsRecordWin %
1 LSU 22–01.000
2 Oklahoma State 11–01.000
Ole Miss 11–01.000
Texas A&M 11–01.000
Washington State 11–01.000
6 Texas Tech 21–1.500
7 Houston 31–2.333
8 Arizona State 10–1.000
BYU 10–1.000
Mississippi State 10–1.000
Oklahoma 10–1.000
Wisconsin 10–1.000

By conference
RankConferenceAppsRecordWin %
1 SEC54–1.800
2 Pac-1221–1.500
Big 1242–2.500
3 American31–2.333
5 Big Ten10–1.000

References
  1. "Good Sam Becomes Title Sponsor of ESPN Events' Texas Kickoff and Vegas Kickoff Classic". Texas Kickoff. August 26, 2021. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021.
  2. "Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys - Recap - August 31, 2013 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  3. "Wisconsin Badgers vs. LSU Tigers - Recap - August 30, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  4. "Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Texas A&M Aggies - Recap - September 5, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  5. "Oklahoma Sooners vs. Houston Cougars - Recap - September 3, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  6. "No. 13 LSU Shuts Down BYU, 27–0". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  7. "Ta'amu, Phillips help Ole Miss over Texas Tech 47-27". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  8. "Gordon leads No. 20 Washington State over Houston 31-24". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  9. "Baylor-Ole Miss football opener canceled as Big 12 considers pandemic schedule". WacoTrib.com. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  10. "Shough, Brooks lead Texas Tech to 38-21 win over Houston". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  11. "College Football TV Ratings". Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  12. "The inside story of Houston's potentially playoff-crashing kick-six". ESPN.com. September 4, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  13. Negron, Anna (July 30, 2020). "ESPN Events Statement Regarding 2020 Texas Kickoff". ESPN. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  14. Dueñas, Sarah Ann (September 4, 2021). "Texas Tech football vs. Houston Cougars highlights". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  15. "LSU, Houston to play in 2027 Texas Kickoff at NRG Stadium". FBSchedules. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
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