With a schedule like the one that the Texas Longhorns have ahead of them this year, the 2026 season was never going to be a smooth ride.
Between powerhouse opponents like the Ohio State Buckeyes, LSU Tigers, and more on the horizon, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the Horns.
Now, with the first official preseason poll out, that schedule looks like an even more daunting task for Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian.
The 2026 College Football Preseason Coaches Poll was released, and out of the 25 ranked teams, seven of them were on Texas's schedule, and the Horns were the No. 4 team in the rankings themselves.
Texas will play more than a quarter of the preseason Top 25 teams
Beyond playing the Texas State Bobcats and the UTSA Roadrunners, the other 10 teams on Texas's roster are Power Four programs, including nine SEC matchups. That gauntlet of a schedule includes the Longhorns' first true test of the season when they host the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes in Week 2.
Then, just a few weeks later, Texas will kick off its conference schedule, and it won't get any easier from there.
- vs. Texas State Bobcats - Sept. 5
- vs. No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes - Sept. 12
- vs. UTSA Roadrunners - Sept. 19
- at No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers - Sept. 26
- vs. No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners - Oct. 10
- vs. Florida Gators - Oct. 17
- vs. No. 10 Ole Miss Rebels - Oct. 24
- vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs - Oct. 31
- at No. 25 Missouri Tigers - Nov. 7
- at No. 13 LSU Tigers - Nov. 14
- vs. Arkansas Razorbacks - Nov. 21
- at No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies - Nov. 27
In their first SEC game of the season, the Horns have to play the currently-ranked No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers on the road, followed one week later by the annual Red River Rivalry against the current-No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners.
After an "easier" week with a home matchup against the unranked Florida Gators, Texas will host the No. 10 Ole Miss Rebels. Then, in just their second unranked conference game, the Longhorns will host the Mississippi State Bulldogs before going through a gauntlet of two road games.
After facing both the No. 25 Missouri Tigers and the No. 13 LSU Tigers on their home fields, the Horns will get a slight reprieve in the form of a long-lived rivalry matchup against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Last but certainly not least, Texas will close out its regular season with its highest-ranked SEC matchup on its schedule (as of now), playing the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station and looking for a third-straight victory in the Lone Star Showdown.
According to ESPN's FPI (football power index), the Longhorns currently have the second-best strength of schedule, meaning they have the third most difficult schedule in the country, only trailing Ohio State.
Simply put, the Horns are going to have to play flawlessly this season, even when they're playing their "lesser" opponents in teams like Mississippi State, Florida, and Arkansas, and head coaches across the country know it.
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