OTF Premium How historically tough is the 2026 Texas football schedule?

[Jeff Howe]

It’s debatable where Texas should be slotted in the host of post-spring practice rankings being published, with CBS Sports, ESPN and USA Today placing the Longhorns among college football’s top five clubs in 2026.

What can’t be disputed is that Steve Sarkisian’s squad is facing a difficult schedule in his sixth season. ESPN’s Bill Connelly and CBS Sports believe the 12-game slate is the toughest in the country, with Texas set to face eight teams included in CBS Sports’ post-spring rankings, six post-spring ranked opponents from USA Today’s too-early Top 25 and eight of the 20 highest-rated teams in Connelly’s most recent SP+ rankings.

The 2025 schedule had a case to be the toughest road slate ever navigated by a Longhorn team. Not including the annual neutral-site tussle with Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl, the Longhorns faced Ohio State, Florida and Georgia on the road. Two top-10 opponents (Vanderbilt and Texas A&M) also made their way to Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium last season.

Regardless of where the Buckeyes, Gators and Bulldogs rank, visiting Columbus, Gainesville and Athens in the same season is a daunting task, something the Longhorns found out the hard way. Still, becoming the first FBS team since LSU in 2019 to record three regular-season wins over top-10 opponents, with victories over the Sooners, Commodores and Aggies, was the strongest argument Texas had for why it deserved to be included in the College Football Playoff.

This season’s schedule is similarly taxing. The Longhorns will battle Tennessee (Sept. 26), LSU (Nov. 14) and Texas A&M (Nov. 27) on the road, with Ohio State (Sept. 12) and Ole Miss (Oct. 24) coming to the Forty Acres. Throw in the Red River Shootout and Texas has four CFP qualifiers from last season on the schedule, along with two other bowl teams (Texas State and UTSA) in non-conference play and the rest of the nine-game SEC schedule.

As the season unfolds, the schedule's degree of difficulty will be judged by where the Longhorns’ opponents sit in the polls. If Texas manages to see at least seven ranked opponents, the 2026 schedule will set a new program standard for strength of schedule.

In the 2014 regular season, the Longhorns had six foes ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 at the time of the game, the most AP Top 25 clubs on a Texas regular-season schedule since the AP Poll expanded to 25 teams in 1989. Charlie Strong’s debut included losses to No. 12 UCLA in Arlington, No. 7 Baylor and No. 5 TCU at home, No. 11 Kansas State on the road and No. 11 Oklahoma in Dallas, with the lone ranked win of the season coming at home over No. 24 West Virginia.

There have been eight seasons since the start of the AP Top 25 era in which the Longhorns have played five ranked opponents in the regular season, including 2025:

— 2024 (at No. 10 Michigan, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 5 Georgia, at No. 25 Vanderbilt and at No. 20 Texas A&M

— 2018 (No. 22 USC, No. 17 TCU, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 13 West Virginia and No. 16 Iowa State)

— 2015 (at No. 11 Notre Dame, No. 24 Oklahoma State, at No. 4 TCU, No. 10 Oklahoma and at No. 12 Baylor)

— 2010 (No. 8 Oklahoma, at No. 5 Nebraska, No. 25 Baylor, No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 17 Texas A&M)

— 1995 (at No. 21 Notre Dame, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 14 Virginia, No. 23 Texas Tech and at No. 16 Texas A&M)

— 1993 (at No. 11 Colorado, No. 6 Syracuse, at No. 24 Louisville, No. 10 Oklahoma and at No. 8 Texas A&M)

— 1989 (at No. 14 Colorado, No. 15 Oklahoma, at No. 7 Arkansas, at No. 15 Houston and at No. 16 Texas A&M)

The additional challenge for Texas in 2026, along with the SEC going to a nine-game schedule, is the elimination of multiple bye weeks. Whereas the Longhorns had two last season, the bye week between the Tennessee game and the Oct. 10 showdown with Oklahoma is the only time they’ll be able to put their feet up and catch their breath.

Eight straight conference games to conclude the regular season could make the 2026 schedule the toughest non-stop grind since the 2008 season, when Texas took on the top-ranked Sooners, No. 11 Missouri, No. 7 Oklahoma State and No. 6 Tech in consecutive weeks. The Longhorns successfully refilled the cup against the Tigers and Cowboys, but didn’t have quite enough in the tank to dispatch the Red Raiders, suffering a loss that cost Mack Brown’s team a chance to play for the national championship.

While a 12-team playoff gives Sarkisian’s bunch more margin for error, it won’t lessen the impact that the totality of a historically difficult schedule could have on the Longhorns’ chances of getting back to the CFP and making a run toward the title game.

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[Jeff Howe]

In case anyone was wondering, I didn't include conference championship games as regular-season games. If I had, the 2018 team would've faced six ranked opponents before the bowl game.

[LonghornFan4Ever]

19 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

In case anyone was wondering, I didn't include conference championship games as regular-season games. If I had, the 2018 team would've faced six ranked opponents before the bowl game.

That makes sense because not every team plays in conference championship games.  Conference championship games should be considered postseason games imo

[Ron Ajatrom]

Is the OSU game the most meaningful/impactful game of the regular season because of it's early implications and how it can influence the outlook for the rest of the season so early on?

[CJ Vogel]

2 minutes ago, Ron Ajatrom said:

Is the OSU game the most meaningful/impactful game of the regular season because of it's early implications and how it can influence the outlook for the rest of the season so early on?

More than anything it's important for a group of key contributors to win that game who hasn't beaten a Georgia or Ohio State before.

Most of the Alabama team is gone. They need to know what it's like to beat a team of this level – Vandy, OU, A&M aren't on the level that I am talking about despite being good wins.

[hookem1014]

Hopefully the committee actually takes strength of record into consideration this year. Unfortunately the G5 will take another spot from a better team once again. 

[Michael Hinojosa]

We are the danger

[Tres Comas]

After we beat Ohio St I hope they lose two more and face the same fate we did last year. 

[Burnt Orange Horn]

16 hours ago, hookem1014 said:

Hopefully the committee actually takes strength of record into consideration this year. Unfortunately the G5 will take another spot from a better team once again. 

Strength of Schedule is a mandated consideration for the Committee.  I am surprised Texas let the Committee ignore it last year!