The Texas Longhorns missed out on a third consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoff after finishing with a 10-3 regular season record last season.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian blasted the playoff committee for not rewarding the Longhorns for playing a tough non-conference game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Longhorns lost their season opener against the Buckeyes in Columbus as part of an ongoing home-and-home series that will extend to the 2026 season when Ohio State travels to Austin.
Texas Backs Out of Big 12 Non-Conference Series Game
SEC teams have had to make readjustments to their non-conference schedules after the conference moved to nine games a season starting in 2026. 247Sports reporter Chris Karpman revealed on X that the Longhorns’ home-and-home series against the Arizona State Sun Devils, set for 2032 and 2033, was the first casualty of the move.
“BREAKING: Texas asked to be let out of its scheduled football home-and-home with ASU in 2032/2033, a source tells @SunDevilSource. The games won’t be rescheduled. ASU will play Stanford in 2031/2032. The SEC’s move to nine conference games led to this. It also jeopardizes ASU’s future home-and-homes with Florida and LSU,” Karpman tweeted.
After moving to nine games, the SEC requires teams to schedule at least one non-conference game against Power Four opposition or the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to keep teams’ schedules competitive.
Longhorns A.D. Committed to Difficult Non-Conference Games
During a town hall on Feb. 4, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte revealed the program’s commitment to continue playing tough non-conference games for the benefit of the Longhorns fans.
“I’m not about to give those games up, I want a little piece of their rear-end in DKR,” Del Conte said. “I want our fans…to be able to watch Ohio State in [DKR], I want fans to be able to watch Michigan along with our SEC slate. We’re gonna honor our word. That’s what we do.
“I will tell you that college football is built around your regular season. Do you guys really want nice, good games in DKR? We could play three cream puffs, and we could play an SEC schedule. I prefer to preserve the regular season by playing great games and not dumbing down your schedule.”
The Longhorns traveled to Ann Arbor to play against the Michigan Wolverines in 2024, to Columbus to play Ohio State in 2025, and will play against the Buckeyes in Austin this year. In the future, they will face the Wolverines in Austin in 2027 and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend in 2028 and in Austin in 2029.
