ESPN published its annual “schedule superlatives” story on Thursday morning, which highlights some of the sport’s most difficult schedules — and a few that are not so difficult.
Texas, the SEC’s preseason favorite to win the league, falls into the latter category — specifically with regards to its home slate. The Longhorns are set to play most of their high-profile opponents (Ohio State, Florida, Oklahoma and Georgia) away from Austin this season.
That means Texas has a home schedule that’s highlighted by Texas A&M, a few (projected) SEC bottom-dwellers and Group-of-5 filler games. Here’s some analysis from ESPN’s Chris Low on why Texas has the easiest home schedule of any power-conference team:
Only one preseason Top 25 team will visit DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium this season, and that’s at the very end when No. 23 Texas A&M makes the 105-mile trip to Austin. After opening against No. 5 Ohio State on the road, Texas plays San José State, UTEP and Sam Houston the next three weeks at home. Other than Texas A&M, Texas’ other two home dates the final month of the season are against Vanderbilt on Nov. 1 and Arkansas on Nov. 22. In an odd twist, Texas doesn’t play a game in Austin in the month of October. Florida, Kentucky and Mississippi State are all on the road, and the Red River Showdown game against Oklahoma, as always, is in Dallas.
Texas, like all SEC programs, is playing the same slate of conference opponents it did last season — but at opposite campus sites (with the exception of the Texas vs. Oklahoma game at the Texas State Fair in Dallas).
Last season, the Longhorns went 7-1 in their debut season season. They finished in first place in the league during the regular season, but lost to Georgia (for the second time) in the SEC Championship Game in December.
Texas will open the 2025 season in Columbus against Ohio State on Aug. 30.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
