Texas Football: 3 ‘permanent opponents’ the Horns could have in SEC

The move for Texas football and the Oklahoma Sooners to leave the Big 12 for the SEC is now locked in for the summer of 2024. Texas and Oklahoma were able to reach an agreement with the Big 12 last week to be able to exit the conference one year earlier than originally anticipated.

It was initially expected that the Longhorns and Sooners would leave the Big 12 for the SEC in 2025, once the current media rights deal expired. But Texas and Oklahoma will be essentially paying a combined $100 million to leave the Big 12 early to join the SEC for the 2024 season, along with all other athletic programs for the 2024-25 academic/athletic calendar year.

Now that Texas and Oklahoma are headed to the SEC in 2024, the biggest question is what the scheduling pattern will look like for each respective football program.

Texas fans would obviously like to keep the annual Red River Rivalry game with Oklahoma while bringing back the in-state showdown with the Texas A&M Aggies. There are also some other foes in bordering states (i.e. the Arkansas Razorbacks and LSU Tigers) that could make for some interesting opponents year after year.

The schools that could be on deck as permanent opponents in the SEC for Texas football

With that in mind, here’s a look at who the three permanent opponents could be annually for the Longhorns in the SEC starting in 2024.

Arkansas

A piece from Trey Biddy of 247Sports predicted the permanent opponents that each team in the new 14-member SEC would have on an annual basis in the last few days. Biddy mentioned the three permanent opponents for Arkansas could very well be the Mizzou Tigers, Oklahoma, and Texas.

And it’s now starting to look like at least part of that trio of permanent opponents for the Hogs could be correct. The one that could be different is a weird one. It looks as if Oklahoma could be the one of that trio of potential permanent opponents that isn’t on Arkansas’ rotation.

A report from Horns247 on Feb. 16 (paid content) indicates that Oklahoma’s three permanent opponents could be the Florida Gators, Mizzou, and Texas.

If this is the case, it likely means that Arkansas’ other permanent opponent will be one of the Ole Miss Rebels, LSU, or Texas A&M.

Moreover, Texas getting Arkansas as a permanent opponent definitely makes sense. The Texas-Arkansas rivalry goes all the way back to 1894. These two teams have faced each other on the gridiron a whopping 79 times, with the latest meeting coming during the 2021 season in Fayetteville.