Jeff Lebby Shouts Out 'Incredible Setting' At DKR

The Texas Longhorns will host an SEC game for the first time on Saturday when they take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Choppers fly over the field ahead of the Longhorns' game against the ULM Warhawks at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Sept. 21, 2024. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Mississippi State Bulldogs are heading to DKR for the first time in 25 years, but head coach Jeff Lebby, former Oklahoma offensive coordinator and Baylor running back coach, knows his way around Austin.

Lebby was at Baylor when Texas last took the No. 1 rank in 2008, and the excitement surrounding this current Texas team will reflect on the stadium on Saturday.

"They got an incredible setting there," Lebby said. "The place will be packed, there will be over 100 thousand there and it'll be our job to block out the noise."

Texas hasn't lost at home since falling 17-10 to TCU in November 2022. The Longhorns' last regular season defeat was in Dallas in the 2023 Red River Showdown.

In 2023, Texas averaged 101,654 fans per game, and there's no doubt there will be a line of cheerful supporters going into the long-awaited Southeastern Conference debut.

"That's what this league is," Lebby said. "It's incredible, the road games, the atmospheres, it's exactly what you want as a player and as a coach. This weekend will be the exact same."

With a capacity of 100,119, Darrell K Royal ranks eighth among the biggest stadiums in the country. Students have recently started a petition to expand the stadium's student section after difficulties getting tickets in 2024.

Five out of the top 10 biggest stadiums belong to SEC programs, and all are known for the atmosphere they bring to games. Saturday will be Texas' first chance to show its new conference rivals what Longhorn fans can do.