Texas opens 2026 ranked No. 5, with Arch Manning in his second full season as the starter – and the sport’s biggest September home game: No. 1 Ohio State visits Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Sept. 12, the Buckeyes’ first trip to Austin since 2006. The Red River Rivalry, a first-ever trip to Neyland Stadium and a Black Friday finale at Texas A&M round out the gauntlet.
Here’s every date, with the SEC’s announced kick windows. Exact times firm up 6-12 days out.
2026 TEAM SCHEDULE
Texas Longhorns
Arch’s year two, with No. 1 coming to town
PRESEASON RANK
No. 5
CFP semifinalists in two of the last three years
THE SHOWDOWN
Sept. 12
No. 1 Ohio State in Austin, 7:30 p.m. ET
IN-STATE GAMES
9 of 13
Seven in Austin, Dallas and College Station too
THE FINALE
Black Friday
At Texas A&M, Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC
The full 2026 schedule
Home games at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium; rankings are preseason AP; times ET
| Date |
Opponent |
Time / Window |
| Sat, Sept. 5 |
vs. Texas State |
TBA |
| Sat, Sept. 12 |
vs. No. 1 Ohio State |
7:30 p.m. |
| Sat, Sept. 19 |
vs. UTSA |
8 p.m., SEC Network+ |
| Sat, Sept. 26 |
at Tennessee |
12 p.m., ABC/ESPN |
| Sat, Oct. 3 |
Bye week |
– |
| Sat, Oct. 10 |
vs. No. 10 Oklahoma (Dallas) |
3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN |
| Sat, Oct. 17 |
vs. Florida |
Early window |
| Sat, Oct. 24 |
vs. No. 9 Ole Miss |
Flex window |
| Sat, Oct. 31 |
vs. Mississippi State |
Night window |
| Sat, Nov. 7 |
at Missouri |
Early window |
| Sat, Nov. 14 |
at No. 11 LSU |
Flex window |
| Sat, Nov. 21 |
vs. Arkansas |
Afternoon window |
| Fri, Nov. 27 |
at No. 8 Texas A&M |
7:30 p.m., ABC |
The games that will decide the season
Circle these four
| Game |
The stakes |
| Ohio State, Sept. 12 |
No. 1 at No. 5, in Austin at night – the home-and-home’s return leg and the earliest college football has ever felt like January |
| Oklahoma in Dallas, Oct. 10 |
The Red River Rivalry with both teams ranked – the Cotton Bowl split-crowd classic, 3:30 kick for the third straight year |
| At LSU, Nov. 14 |
A November night-capable trip to Death Valley against Lane Kiffin’s first LSU team – the road test the committee will weigh heaviest |
| At Texas A&M, Black Friday |
The rivalry’s return trip to Kyle Field on Nov. 27 in primetime – a top-10 Lone Star finale with everything attached |
SCHEDULE FACTS
First trip to Neyland, ever
Texas and Tennessee have met only three times – all at the Cotton Bowl – so Sept. 26 is the Longhorns’ first game in Knoxville in series history.
The bye lands perfectly
Oct. 3 off sits between the Tennessee trip and Red River – the rest week every Texas coach would draw up.
A brutal closing kick
Three of the final four are on the road – Missouri, LSU and College Station – with only Arkansas at home to breathe.
The Gauntlet Austin Asked For
Texas gets the sport’s marquee nonconference game, both blood rivalries and the SEC’s new nine-game load in one season – a slate that will settle its playoff seed the hard way, under the format covered in how the College Football Playoff works. The season’s framework is governed by the NCAA.
The Bottom Line
Ohio State in Week 2, Oklahoma at the fair, LSU in November and A&M on Black Friday – Texas’ 2026 schedule reads like a playoff bracket before the playoff starts, and Arch Manning’s second season will be graded against all of it.
