Texas will host Ohio State in a Week 2 College GameDay spotlight before closing the regular season with a prime-time rivalry trip to Texas A&M.
Texas Longhorns football already had a loaded 2026 schedule. Now it has two spotlight kickoff times to match.
Texas announced that its Week 2 showdown with Ohio State will kick off Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
ESPN’s College GameDay will also be in Austin for the matchup, giving the Longhorns an early-season national stage as they try to climb back into the College Football Playoff picture.
That’s no small storyline after Texas went 10–3 in 2025 and saw its two-year CFP appearance streak come to an end.
Between the transfer portal and another strong recruiting class, Steve Sarkisian’s program has reloaded with urgency. The Ohio State game will offer an immediate measuring stick.
It also brings another chapter in what has quickly become a fascinating mini-rivalry. Texas and Ohio State have played only five times, but this will be their third meeting since January 2025.
The Buckeyes beat the Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal on Jan. 10, 2025, then won again 14–7 in Columbus to open the 2025 regular season.
This time, Arch Manning and Julian Sayin won’t be making their first starts as full-time QB1s. Both quarterbacks should be more comfortable, which could give the rematch a very different offensive feel.
College GameDay’s return to Austin is another big piece of the announcement. Texas has appeared on the show 28 times and hosted it 10 times, marks that rank among the top programs nationally.
But the Longhorns haven’t won as the GameDay host since beating TCU in 2009. They’re 5–5 all-time when hosting the show and have dropped their last four in that setting.
Texas also confirmed its regular-season finale against Texas A&M will kick off Friday, Nov. 27, at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC in College Station.
The Lone Star Showdown has become a Black Friday staple since Texas joined the SEC in 2024, and the stakes have been huge.
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Texas has won both SEC-era meetings with the Aggies, including last year’s 27–17 victory that knocked Texas A&M out of the SEC Championship Game race.
With Ohio State early and Texas A&M late, the Longhorns won’t have to wait long for attention. They’ll have to earn it from September through November.
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