Why Texas Football Fans Are 'SEC Ready'

The SEC is known for its unmatched energy, and DKR is ready to add the Texas Longhorns faithful to the best in the country.

Texas Longhorns take the field before they take on Colorado State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. / Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Despite a 2:30 p.m. start in the height of Austin heat, Texas fans showed up and showed out for the season opener against Colorado State on Saturday.

The 99,171 in attendance were not disappointed, as the Longhorns shutout the Rams in a 52-0 win.

"First thing I’d like to do is thank our fans, our students and our crowd," head coach Steve Sarkisian said in his post-game opening statement. "The students were there early, they had awesome energy, and it was a great atmosphere. (It was) what you hope for your opening game coming off of the season we had last year to kick off the season. I just thought the atmosphere was awesome."

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) smiles after scoring a touch down as the Texas Longhorns take on Colorado State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. / Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

When redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning entered in the third quarter, the crowd maxed out the decibel meter in the stadium. Going into one of the most exciting seasons in Texas history, fans -- like Manning -- will have to show they are also "SEC ready."

"(The fans) were super engaged," Sarkisian said. "That’s always tough when you’ve got a 2:30 kick on August 31st to hang in there the way they did. I thought that was great."

Five out of the top ten college football's best atmospheres are SEC programs, per 247Sports, with the LSU Tigers leading the way at Tiger Stadium. Tennessee, Texas A&M, Florida and Auburn are also named in the list.

DKR sits at seventh place in the nation's biggest college football stadiums with a capacity of 100,119 and the Longhorns will have a chance to feel the hype of the biggest in Ann Arbor next weekend as they face reigning national champion Michigan Wolverines in front of 107,601 people.