Texas faces Ohio State and Tennessee in September, and a 4-0 start could transform the Longhorns from playoff hopeful into title-level threat.
Texas doesn’t have the luxury of easing into the 2026 season.
The Longhorns open with a September schedule that could determine their College Football Playoff trajectory before October even arrives, with Ohio State and Tennessee looming among four games before the program’s only bye week.
For Steve Sarkisian, that creates one obvious challenge: Texas may have several new pieces, but it can’t afford to wait too long for everything to click.
The Longhorns begin against Texas State, where quarterback Brad Jackson could give the defense an immediate test. UTSA follows in Week 3. Both are games Texas will be expected to win.
The real pressure points are Ohio State and Tennessee.
Ohio State comes to Austin in Week 2 for one of the biggest games on the early college football calendar.
Texas is currently a slight favorite, but the matchup could hinge on two areas: Arch Manning avoiding mistakes and the Longhorns finding a way to keep explosive Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith from wrecking the game.
That’s easier said than done, and then comes Knoxville.
Playing Tennessee inside Neyland Stadium could be as much a test of composure as talent. Texas learned last season how quickly a hostile road environment can change a season when a loss at Florida helped derail its playoff hopes.
Manning and the offense can’t allow the same kind of chaos to take over in Knoxville.
Go 4-0 in September, though, and the entire conversation changes.
An undefeated opening month wouldn’t mathematically lock Texas into the CFP. Not with Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Missouri, LSU and Texas A&M still waiting later on the schedule.
But it would prove something important.
Texas would have survived two legitimate Top 25 tests, beaten one of the nation’s premier programs and handled one of the SEC’s loudest road environments.
For a roster incorporating transfers and a new defensive coordinator, that would be a massive early-season statement.
A September loss wouldn’t end the season, either. It would simply eliminate much of Texas’ margin for error during conference play.
That’s what makes this opening stretch so important. The Longhorns don’t have to make the playoff in September. But they absolutely can make the road there a whole lot easier.
