The First Preseason Coaches' Poll Highlights the True Difficulty of Texas' Schedule

The start of the 2026 season is right around the corner, with many programs reporting for fall camp this week or in the coming weeks, and another huge indicator of the new college football season being on the horizon is the release of the first preseason rankings.

On Tuesday morning, USA Today released a preseason coaches poll ranking the top 25 teams headed into the season, and the Texas Longhorns, as expected, were ranked as one of the top teams in the country and the second-highest-ranked team in the SEC, coming in at No. 4.

However, while the coaches poll adds to the major expectations the Longhorns will face and how highly they are being rated, a look at the rest of USA Today's preseason coaches poll makes the strength of Texas' 2026 schedule extremely apparent.

The Coaches Poll Further Proves Texas Has the Toughest Schedule in the Country

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning warms up before a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One look at the Longhorns' schedule makes it easy to see that it's one of, if not the toughest, schedules in the country by a wide margin, with road trips to Baton Rouge, Knoxville, College Station, as well as opening the doors of Darrell K. Royal Stadium for the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Ole Miss Rebels.

And USA Today's preseason coaches poll confirms that notion, with the Longhorns facing seven teams that are ranked in the top 25, with four of those opponents being inside the top 10. Adding to the difficulty is that of the seven top-25 matchups for the Longhorns, only two games will be at home in Austin.

The Longhorns will be facing the preseason No. 1 team in the country, Ohio State, in week two of the season, as well as the No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies on the road, No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl, No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 13 LSU Tigers in Death Valley, No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers on the road to open up SEC play, and the No. 25 Missouri Tigers away from home.

The two games the Longhorns have at home against Ohio State and Ole Miss should be circled as two of the biggest games on the schedule outside of the two rivalry games against Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

The Buckeyes are unsurprisingly the preseason No. 1 team in the country with an incredible amount of returning talent and so far have the Longhorns' number, beating them two seasons in a row.

As for the Rebels, Texas will have to host the College Football Playoff semifinalists, who return a talented core of their playoff team; however, they deal with immense changes around the program.

The two rivalry games will always speak for themselves, as the emotions and buzz around the Red River Rivalry and the Lone Star Showdown, which returns to College Station, are intense, and the games will always be important on the Texas schedule.

Away games are always tough battles, and for the Longhorns, they'll be challenged with playing at two of the toughest venues not just in the SEC but in the country. Texas opens conference play with a trip to Neyland Stadium to face Tennessee, and in November, the Longhorns make their way to Tiger Stadium to face LSU.

And a trip to Columbia, Missouri, has always been tough for the top teams in the SEC year after year, as the Missouri Tigers, especially under head coach Eli Drinkwitz, are tough to beat at home in Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.

The Longhorns will battle through a gauntlet of a regular-season slate that many of the other top contenders in college football won't have to face. And if the Longhorns claw their way through the gauntlet, a spot in the College Football Playoff will undoubtedly have their name written all over it.

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