Bye Week Allows Texas to Prepare for Difficult SEC Road Schedule

Texas Longhorns football was off this weekend, taking its first bye week of the year to recover from a somewhat tough first four weeks of the season.

It’s a much-needed break for Texas, especially with the schedule that lies ahead for the team, taking on road opponents until November.

Texas Tackles A Daunting Road Schedule

Texas Longhorns QB Arch Mannin — Sep 20, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) throws a pass during the first half against the Sam Houston Bearkats at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

For the next month, the Longhorns find themselves on the road, as they begin SEC play. Texas will take on Florida, Oklahoma, Kentucky and then Mississippi State to make October a long month of being on the road.

As conference play begins, Texas will look to make each road matchup an opportunity to spoil its opponents home games.

Florida Gators

The first team Texas will face in its road trip is the Florida Gators in Gainesville, one of the SEC's most hostile environments. This matchup should prove to be a good introduction to SEC play for quarterback Arch Manning, who struggled to start the season, but had an impressive performance against Sam Houston last Saturday.

Florida is currently 1-3 on the season after a few difficult matchups to start the year. The Gators took on two top five opponents in No. 4 Miami and No. 3 LSU, but dropped a more favorable matchup to unranked South Florida. Not the start to the season quarterback DJ Lagway and the Gators expected, but the team will look to its matchup against the Longhorns to get back on track.

Oklahoma Sooners

The Red River Rivalry is always a highly anticipated matchup for Texas, and is often the regular-season matchup of the season for both teams. This season, Texas faces a Sooners team that may be without starting quarterback John Mateer, who suffered a broken bone in his right hand. Mateer recently underwent surgery that the quarterback said was successful.

"Thank God for a successful procedure," Mateer posted via X.

If Mateer does return in time for the rRed River matchup, he will be a difficult obstacle for the Longhorns to overcome, even with one of the nation's best defenses.

Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky starts the season 2-1, with a conference loss to Ole Miss in week two of the college football season. A Wildcats team that has faced two favorable matchups outside of the loss to the Rebels, this matchup could prove to be a good opportunity for the Longhorns.

At this point in the season, Longhorn fans will hope that quarterback Arch Manning is consistently performing for Texas, the same way he did against Sam Houston, against opponents such as the Wildcats.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Mississippi State has looked impressive to start the season after finishing with a 2-10 record in 2024. Currently the team is 4-1, with the Bulldogs one loss coming against No. 15. The Bulldogs challenged Tennessee on Saturday, falling to the Vols, 41-34, in overtime.

Though its a game the Longhorns should come out on top in, the Bulldogs may be a team to keep an eye on in its ability to upset ranked opponents. Mississippi State takes on the Longhorns on October 25.