On Thursday, the SEC announced it was expanding its annual league slate. Starting in 2026, each team will play nine conference games every year. Teams in the Southeastern Conference currently play just eight league games. Each team will be assigned three annual opponents to maintain rivalries.
Based on that decision, we can now construct, for the most part, the Texas Longhorns 2026 schedule.
The SEC will also now require members to schedule at least one high-quality non-conference opponent from either the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC or Notre Dame each year. For decades, Texas has scheduled at least one elite non-conference opponent each year. UT has that stipulation covered with non-conference opponents like Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Arizona State in the coming years.
The assignment of the Longhorns three permanent opponents is possibly the most straightforward in the conference, which is ironic given Texas is one of the newest members. But the Horns brought one of the three with them into the SEC with Red River Rival Oklahoma.
Obviously, one of the three permanent opponents will be the Aggies. Texas A&M is UT’s biggest rival. A&M left the Big 12 to get away from Texas, then tried to block the Longhorns move into the SEC. The scene last year in College Station was must-see theater. The SEC will make sure the Lone Star Shootout happens annually.
As for team No. 3, it has to be the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Hogs and the Horns were traditional rivals for decades and played one of the most famous games in college football history, the Great Shootout in 1969 where President Richard Nixon declared Texas national champion in the locker room after the game.
The only other candidate would be LSU. But Texas and the Tigers have only played a handful of times historically. That rivalry plays out on the recruiting trail more than the gridiron. Texas’ three permanent opponents seem set.
The Longhorns 2026 non-conference schedule is also set. UT will play Texas State on Sept. 5, Ohio State on Sept. 12 and UTSA on Sept. 19. All three games are in Austin at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.
That leaves six SEC opponents to figure out.
With the new schedule being an odd number, Texas will not have a balanced home and away conference schedule. Some years they will be at home for five games and some years just four. With UT’s entire non-conference schedule at home, it’s a good guess that Texas will be the home team for just four SEC games in 2026.
For Texas’ first two years in the SEC, the Longhorns have played the same eight-game conference schedule, with the home/visiting teams flipped, over the two years. Three of those eight teams were the three permanent rivals.
It is unlikely the SEC will keep the current home-and-home schedule with Texas’ three permanent rivals the same. If that happens, UT will always play either all three on the road or all three at home every year. At least one will be altered.
The easiest one to switch would be Oklahoma since the game is played at a neutral site in Dallas with the home and road teams “designated.” They could make the Longhorns the “home team” two years in a row without anyone really noticing. Texas would then travel to Kyle Field next year for the Aggie game and Fayetteville to face Arkansas.
It is highly doubtful UT will play any of the other five conference teams on the 2024-2025 schedule next year. That eliminates Georgia, Florida, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Who is left? Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee. Seven possible opponents to fill six slots.
Now, let’s look at some possible storylines the SEC executives might be interested in setting up.
If Arch Manning returns for the 2026 season, the SEC could cook up a couple of epic Manning-Bowl type games. Both Ole Miss and Tennessee are on the list of possible opponents. Manning’s grandfather Archie and uncle Eli are legends for the Rebels. His uncle Peyton, the most famous Manning, was a phenom at Tennessee. It is a good bet Texas will travel to both places.
That leaves four spots to fill, one road game and three home games. There are five teams left.
LSU seems like another lock. They won’t be assigned as rivals, but the conference and its media partners can’t wait for Texas and LSU to play again. Many Bayou Bengals fans are still sore the Longhorns canceled a trip to Baton Rouge during the 2020 Covid-19 season. But with some big road games already on the Horns’ docket, that game will probably be in Austin.
That leaves Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina and Missouri to fill one road and two home game slots.
The question now becomes, do the powers that be in the SEC want Alabama and Texas to play next year? Will SEC commissioner Greg Sankey want to save that game for the 2027? Will the conference want to maximize viewership in the first year of its expanded schedule. The nine-game schedule guarantees more money for the SEC and ESPN. Money typically tips the scales.
Our guess is Mizzou will be the odd team out. Texas was conference bunk-mates with the Tigers for years and there doesn’t seem to be any urgency from either side to play as soon as possible. The “old Big 12 rivals” storyline will have to wait.
Some dates are locked in. As mentioned, the non-conference schedule is totally set in stone. We know when Texas will play the Sooners and the Aggies. The rest of the actual schedule involves some guess work, but we have narrowed down the possible 2026 schedule to just a few variables.
Projected Texas Longhorns 2026 Schedule
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: 2026 Texas Football schedule prediction with new extra SEC game added
Reporting by Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
