 The Rice Owls and Texas met in 2005 for the 88th time . Texas held a 65 – 21 – 1 lead in the series , which began in 1914 . For the Longhorns this series ranks fourth in number of games played , behind Texas A & M , Oklahoma , and Baylor . The two schools were once conference foes in the Southwest Conference and have maintained a rivalry despite the fact that Texas enjoys a sizable lead in the series . President John F. Kennedy alluded to the <unk> of the rivalry in his 1962 speech on America 's space program : " But why , some say , the moon ? ... And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain . Why , 35 years ago , fly the Atlantic ? Why does Rice play Texas ? ... We choose to go to the moon ... and do the other things , not because they are easy , but because they are hard . " In addition to continuing a traditional rivalry , playing Rice in a home and away series allows for Texas to play games in Houston , Texas , an important recruiting base for UT , which has a significant Texas Exes alumni population . 
