While the Longhorns have to face the monster of the Ohio State Buckeyes, they actually have a relatively easy schedule for their 2026 season.
As a team in the SEC, Texas could easily face powerhouse program after powerhouse program every week of the year. This season, the Horns get a break from having to play the Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide, but there are still a slew of big-time games on the docket.
Beyond the usual rivalry matchups against Texas A&M and Oklahoma, fans have a lot to look forward to as the Texas Longhorns' season approaches. Here's a ranking of each SEC matchup on the Horns' schedule:
While last year's game came down to the wire, the Mississippi State Bulldogs shouldn't hope for much of the same this season.
The Horns have added a slew of highly talented players to their roster, and it will give Texas a massive leg up over a team like Mississippi State, which has struggled on the recruiting trail, especially as the Bulldogs come to Austin.
Despite being near the top of the SEC just a few years ago, the Missouri Tigers are a far cry from a dominant team, and the Longhorns should easily be able to dispatch of them when the two teams play in November.
While Missouri has the advantage of playing Texas at home, the Tigers most likely will fall well short of stacking up to the Horns' abilities.
In another road game for the Horns, Texas will face the Tennessee Volunteers at Good Ole Rocky Top and should be able to best the "other UT."
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has done a lot of good work with the Vols, but Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian should undeniably have the answers to beat him.
With Lane Kiffin gone, the Ole Miss Rebels are suddenly in a rebuilding phase, naming former defensive coordinator as the team's new head coach.
A lot of the Rebels' players from last year stayed, but there's still an air of uncertainty as Ole Miss enters a season with new leadership at the helm. That should give Texas a great chance to blow them out of the water, especially with the game happening in Austin.
A long-time rivalry between Arkansas and Texas was reborn when the Longhorns joined the SEC, and this season, it's kicking off at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Another team in the conference with a new head coach in charge, the Razorbacks are also going through a bit of a rebuilding. While not as many players stuck around in Fayetteville as at Ole Miss, the rivalry between the teams makes this a toss-up every single time.
Yes, the Florida Gators are a third team in the SEC that has a new head coach in charge, UF firing Billy Napier and hiring Jon Sumrall. Since then, Sumrall has transformed the Gators into a team that could undeniably ruin teams' seasons with dominant players and a motivated head coach leading the way.
The game is the first home matchup on Texas's conference schedule, bringing a crowd of nearly 100,000 faithful Longhorn fans.
One of the rivalries to end all rivalries, Texas and Oklahoma are set to face off in the 122nd meeting of the Red River Rivalry. No matter how good either team is, the other one could pull off the upset, and that much is definitely true of the 2026 meeting.
The Longhorns have the star power, but Brent Venables is sitting on an increasingly warm seat in Norman, so his players are likely to do everything they can to keep him as the head coach of the Sooners.
Now we get to Lane Kiffin, who left the Rebels to take over as the head coach of the LSU Tigers (yes, I know, another head coaching change).
Kiffin took a few players with him to Baton Rouge and has been able to land blue-chip prospect after blue-chip prospect, as well as seemingly any transfer portal player he wanted. That includes players like former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt, who was the No. 1 transfer prospect this offseason.
On top of that, the Longhorns will face the Tigers on their turf, taking a trip to Louisiana to face LSU on the road. Every team in the country could struggle to find its footing at Death Valley, much less a team that hasn't played there since 1953.
How could the Lone Star Showdown not be the No. 1 game in this ranking?
Since joining the SEC, the Horns have reinforced their dominance over the Texas A&M Aggies, going 2-0 against their rivals.
Concerningly, this year's matchup could be different.
Mike Elko has built a monster of a roster in College Station, and it could easily spell trouble for the Longhorns.
However, Texas quarterback Arch Manning has repeatedly and continuously played some of his best football against the Aggies, and that much should hold true as the Longhorns visit Texas A&M for the two teams' 121st meeting.
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