Power ranking Texas football’s biggest rivals by importance to beat

The NCAA officially released every team's list of permanent opponents for each season going forward, and now it's time to rank each of them based on their importance to beat for Texas.

1. Oklahoma

Not much needs to be said about the Red River Rivalry. Not only is it the Longhorns' biggest rivalry game each year, but it's one of the top overall rivalries in sports.

Played annually at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during the Texas State Fair, it’s undoubtedly one of the most iconic matchups in college football each season.

Texas' career record vs. Oklahoma: 64 wins - 51 losses - 5 ties

2. Texas A&M

The Longhorns will always find solace in beating their cute, in-state "little brother" whenever they have the opportunity to. The schools stopped playing annually after Texas A&M moved to the SEC in 2012, but the rivalry will officially resume now that Texas has joined the conference.

Texas' career record vs. Texas A&M: 77 wins - 37 losses - 5 ties

3. Arkansas

The rivalry stems from the good ol' Southwest Conference days that ended in 1996. Though less frequent, games with Arkansas are fueled by bad blood and historically, Razorback fans have relished beating Texas.

To go along with that, Steve Sarkisian mentions similar sentiments in this clip:

Texas' career record vs. Arkansas: 57 wins - 23 losses

It's going to be incredibly fun to watch Texas play each of these teams every single year regardless of schedule shakeup. It's hard to believe that before their 2024 matchup, the Longhorns haven't faced Texas A&M since the 2011 season.