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Texas 2026 Football Schedule: Dates revealed for the Longhorns' SEC slate

Joe Cookby: Joe Cook7 hours agojosephcook89

The Southeastern Conference announced the dates for the Texas Longhorns’ 2026 conference games in a televised special on SEC Network on Thursday night.

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The Longhorns out of conference slate will feature three home games. The 2026 season opener will be versus Texas State on Saturday, September 5.

Ohio State travels to Austin for the second time and the first time since 2006 when the Buckeyes head to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, September 12.

After Texas was left out of the College Football Playoff with a 9-3 record that included losses to Ohio State, Florida, and Georgia, there was some question as to whether the return trip from the Buckeyes would take place. Steve Sarkisian put the notion of backing out of that series to bed on December 2.

“We’re going to honor Ohio State and Michigan. For the next two years, we know what our non-conference schedule is going to look like,” Sarkisian said. “I think anything beyond that is up for discussion. (Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte) and I have already had that discussion. We need to take a good, hard look at what our non conference schedule looks like beyond the next two years.”

Texas concludes non-conference play with UTSA on Saturday, September 19. Opponents in SEC play for 2026 through 2029 were already known. Texas will face Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Arkansas as protected opponents over the next four seasons. The remaining 12 teams in the league will all make their way to Austin over the next four years.

The Longhorns will welcome Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss to Austin while traveling to LSU, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. The annual Red River Shootout will be in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

The order was revealed Thursday.

  • Texas State – September 5
  • Ohio State – September 12
  • UTSA – September 19
  • At Tennessee – September 26
  • Open – October 3
  • Vs. Oklahoma (Dallas) – October 10
  • Florida – October 17
  • Ole Miss – October 24
  • Mississippi State – October 31
  • At Missouri – November 7
  • At LSU – November 14
  • Arkansas – November 21
  • At Texas A&M – November 27

The SEC Championship Game will take place on Saturday, December 5 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.

2026 will be Texas’ third season as members of the SEC. The Longhorns were 7-1 in SEC play in 2024, making the conference championship game but falling to Georgia. In 2025, Texas was 6-2 in league play and swept all three of its main rivals in Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Arkansas.

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