2026 Mizzou Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 9: Texas

In the modern landscape of college football, where entire roster's essentially enter a mass free agency at the start of every offseason, continuity is of the utmost importance.

When Missouri football faces Texas on Nov. 7 this season, the Longhorns will be the just the second program on Missouri's schedule to be returning both its starting quarterback and head coach. Head coach Steve Sarkisian is entering his sixth season at the top of the program and his second season with Arch Manning starting at quarterback.

After Texas' 2024 debut season in the SEC in which the Longhorns totaled a conference-high 13 wins before falling in the Cotton Bowl to eventual-champion Ohio State, the Longhorns dipped below the elite level and finished the season 10-3, missing out on the College Football Playoff — despite five other conference rivals making it — and tying for fifth in the SEC standings.

With a No. 3-ranked incoming transfer portal class and a No. 9-ranked incoming freshman class, per 247Sports, Texas looks poised to reassert itself as a powerhouse in the SEC in its third season in the conference. It'll have a chance to do so when it comes to town to take on Missouri in Week 9.

Here's what the Longhorns will look like.

Offense

Nov 15, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian and team gesture after the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Manning is set to begin his second season as a full-time starter after throwing for 3,163 yards, 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions as a redshirt sophomore in 2025. He enters 2026 as a Heisman Trophy favorite, and will have all the tools around him to bring the award home.

The Longhorns boast one of if not the best receiver room in the nation, returning star sophomore Ryan Wingo while adding five-star transfer Cam Coleman, four-star transfer Sterling Berkhalter and five-star incoming freshman Jermaine Bishop. Returning sophomore Nick Townsend looks to break out at tight end.

Opposite to Missouri, Texas' weakest offensive link in 2025 was its rushing attack. Although Manning rushed for 399 yards and 10 touchdowns, the team as a whole combined for just 1,791 yards and 17 touchdowns. Ahmad Hardy totaled 1,649 yards and 16 touchdowns on his own, nearly eclipsing the Longhorns entire team as a one-man show.

Texas made an effort to address those problems through the transfer portal, adding former NC State tailback Hollywood Smothers — who's 939 rushing yards and 5.9 yards per carry were far better than any Longhorn running back in 2025 — and Raleek Brown, a 1,141-yard rusher at Arizona State last season, to the roster. Returning redshirt freshman and former four-star recruit James Gibson, along with incoming four-star freshman Derrek Cooper, will play supporting roles.

The offensive line, which also struggled in 2025, added projected-starters Melvin Siani (right tackle) and Laurence Seymore (left guard) in the transfer portal. Former five-star recruit Brandon Baker started much of last season at right tackle, but will likely shift back to the interior, where he thrived in his high school days. Trevor Goosby should keep his spot as the starting left tackle, while Conner Robertson, who earned his first career start last season against Sam Houston, will start at center.

If the talent on Texas' roster translates to statistical output and success, you'll have to nitpick to find holes in it — it'll be a tall task to stop the Longhorns from scoring in 2026.

Defense

While the offense has the Heisman candidate in Manning captaining it, the defense has just as good of a leader: Colin Simmons.

Simmons, a rising junior, led the SEC with 12 sacks last season, forcing three fumbles and logging 43 total tackles in the process as well. He earned All-American nods and was voted to the All-SEC first team, and will now return as the anchor for an explosive Texas defense. His presence will be ever-important on a defense that lost eight defenders — including standouts like Malik Muhammad and Anthony Hill — to the NFL the past offseason.

Texas did pick up two transfers to replace production lost from those stars, adding four-star transfers Rasheem Biles and Justin Cryer to the linebacker room, while adding four-star transfer Bo Mascoe to the cornerback room. Former Arkansas defensive linemen Ian Geffrard projects to be a high-impact starter on the defensive line.

The rest of the defense will be heavily reliant on growth from returners and a new system from new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who served as Texas' defensive coordinator from 2008-2010 and has just under 20 seasons of experience on SEC coaching staffs.

Schedule

Missouri's SEC schedule — like most other teams in the conference — projects to be a grueling gauntlet. After beginning it with two winnable games against Mississippi State and Florida, the Tigers will be thrust into consecutive matchups with Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas and Georgia. All but Arkansas could be CFP contenders at time of matchup — Missouri will have to throw heavy punches toward each opponent to keep postseason hopes alive.

Luckily for the Tigers, they'll play Arkansas one week before Texas. Missouri has handled its Battle Line series against the Razorbacks in recent seasons, so while Arkansas can't be completely ignored, it's certainly an easier matchup to precede Texas relative to the rest of the schedule.

As for Texas, the Longhorns will be fresh off a home game against Mississippi State and will take on a new-look LSU squad the week after Missouri. The Tigers have boasted an elite home record the past two seasons, so if anything, the contest could be viewed as a trap game for Mannings' Longhorns — they'll need to keep focused on the task at hand and not overlook the Tigers.

Outlook

One of or both of these team's seasons would need to go drastically different from preseason projections for Missouri to be favored to win this matchup. Yes, it's hard to win a game at Faurot Field, but high-level teams have proven capable of doing so when necessary — see Texas A&M in 2025, LSU in 2023 or Georgia in 2022.

Missouri, with homefield advantage and the potential benefits of a trap game, could pull off an upset to steal a victory against a projected powerhouse, but it won't be likely.

Game Info

Date: Saturday, Nov. 7
Time: TBD
TV: TBD
Location: Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri
Series history: Texas leads 17-6

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