While seated Monday for his first game-week press conference of the season, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian noted there are "a lot of really cool things that are happening this season."

For instance, Royal-Memorial Stadium will celebrate its 100th anniversary. And during Saturday's season opener against Colorado State, UT will honor the Longhorns' athletic department for winning the Capital One Cup and the Director's Cup as well as the 2023-24 national championships that were won by the volleyball and rowing teams. Texas' Olympians will also be recognized.

"But the coolest thing is we get to play football again, and we're excited for it," Sarkisian said.

'We've got a chip on our shoulder'

Yes, about that. The No. 4-ranked Longhorns are coming off their first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff and by Saturday afternoon's kickoff, expectations won't have subsided in the 243 days since that 37-31 loss to Washington in the Sugar Bowl. Texas left the Big 12 and joined the SEC this summer and has been picked second in the conference preseason poll behind Georgia.

"We've got a chip on our shoulder because a lot of people think we can't (make a name for ourselves)," UT defensive lineman Alfred Collins said. "We've been working our butts off. It's about time to show everybody."

Colorado State went 5-7 last year, but Sarkisian insisted that "we've got a very tough opponent. Coach (Jay) Norvell has done a really good job of building that program back up at Colorado State. I know they were 5-7 last year, but there was a lot of close games that could have went either way."

Texas has been tough in openers

In its history, Texas is 108-20-3 in season openers. As a head coach at Washington, USC and Texas, Sarkisian is 8-2. Together, Texas and Sarkisian have opened with a 38-18 win over Louisiana in 2021, a 52-10 win over Louisiana-Monroe in 2022 and a 37-10 win over Rice last year.

So what will Sarkisian be looking for when the Longhorns take the field for the first time this season? He said it'll be important for Texas to minimize the "self-inflicted wounds" like pre-snap penalties and special teams infractions. Tackling is also something that will be emphasized.

"Then for me, the biggest thing that I'm looking for now, more than ever, is our ability to play a lot of players, especially in the first half of this game," he said. "We have a two-deep when in reality, our ones are our twos and our twos are our ones. Getting all those guys involved in the game and seeing the comfort level maybe of some of our younger players and then getting them more comfortable as the game goes on, I think is important for us as well."

Texas didn't release a depth chart on Monday, but Sarkisian said that the first- and second-string players should expect to see playing time in the first half. Will that participation report include backup quarterback Arch Manning?

"We'll find out," Sarkisian teased.

Looking forward to this season

Later in his session with reporters, Sarkisian declared that "I love Saturdays." From team breakfasts to the walk-throughs to the jaunts down Bevo Boulevard and listening to the band, Sarkisian enjoys all of the pomp and circumstance. He even is here for the smell of the stadium popcorn.

Collins said Monday he was looking forward to getting to "finally showcase what we've been working on."

Added tight end Gunnar Helm: "(I enjoy) the buzz in the air around school. Obviously, it's the first week of school, and just the buzz in the air going from class to class, meeting new people. Everybody's got kind of that same feel of just excitement about the first game."

When junior safety Michael Taaffe takes the field, he will do what he does ahead of most games. An Austin native who grew up as a Longhorns fan, Taaffe said he watched a documentary on Colt McCoy in which it was shared that the legendary Longhorns quarterback took three breaths before he ran out of the tunnel.

So ahead of Saturday's opener, he'll walk to the 36-yard line since that's the number that late UT linebacker Jake Ehlinger wore while they both played at Westlake High, and take those three breaths.

Then Taaffe will "look at the visitor side, look at the end zone side, and then look at our side and just soak it all in. Because there's not a lot of people that can say they played for the burnt orange. This is the only school that gets to wear this color," he said. "And I'm so blessed to be on the field playing, representing my school, representing my state. So, that's my favorite thing, taking it all in and then going out there and playing."

Texas vs. Colorado State Week 1: How to watch, listen

Who: Colorado State at No. 4 Texas

When: 2:30 p.m.

Where: Royal-Memorial Stadium

How to watch, listen: ESPN, 1300 AM

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas opens first game week of the season vs. Colorado State