The Texas Longhorns are not shrinking or afraid of failure; they want to face the best in 2026

For the Texas Longhorns, the 2025 season felt like a roller coaster at the beginning. They struggled in their first games to find stability with Eli Manning and across the roster as a whole. But after an adjustment made by Steve Sarkisian, the team rallied, although it ultimately fell short of securing a postseason berth.

The major problems the Texans faced came in those matchups against universities outside their conference, games that ended in defeats and limited their aspirations.

Regarding the opponents they will face in the upcoming 2026 season, they are not intimidated by anything and are ready to take on the programs that appear powerful, and that belong to other conferences with significant strength.

I want our fans, Longhorn Nation, to be able to watch Ohio State in this stadium."..."I want fans in Longhorn Nation to be able to watch Michigan along with our SEC slate. But I had a lot of people say, 'We need to cancel those games.' No, we're going to honor our word.

Chris Del Conte

Texas AD Chris Del Conte said during Wednesday night's town hall with fans.

A vision from Del Conte focused on what is best for the fans

With this vision, Del Conte hopes his supporters enjoy a great spectacle at DKR Stadium, ensuring their money is worth every cent. Before joining the SEC, in the nine games the Longhorns will have, four at home, four on the road, and one on neutral ground, fans will have the chance to enjoy quality matchups.

Ahead of the move to the SEC, Texas had to play several non-conference games on the road, and that is why they now expect those major programs to return to Austin instead of having those matchups canceled.

I want a little piece of their rear end in DKR."... "So Ohio State comes in, and Michigan comes in. So that's the reason for where we were at.

Chris Del Conte

Conte said.

A major risk for the Texas Longhorns in 2026

For the 2026 season, the Longhorns will be playing more games against SEC opponents, such as:

• LSU
• Alabama
• Ole Miss
• Tennessee
• Georgia

Facing this type of rival will become routine for Texas, and they will also have matchups against powerful teams from other conferences, such as:

• ACC
• Big Ten
• Big 12
• Notre Dame

It is worth remembering that in 2025, they suffered a defeat that proved crucial to their postseason hopes. The matchup against Ohio State hurt badly. They finished 2025 with a 9-3 record. That loss to the Buckeyes, a team outside their conference, raised concerns for head coach Steve Sarkisian.

We're going to honor Ohio State and Michigan."..."We went there, we went to Ann Arbor, and we went to Columbus. We're going to honor those return trips. So for the next two years, we know what our non-conference schedule is going to look like, and that's the right thing to do. We made the commitment to play them, and we will honor that commitment for them to come play us here.

Steve Sarkisian

Sarkisian said.

However, they now want to establish themselves as a major program in the nation by facing anyone, proving their level is good enough to compete for championships.