Why Texas' Schedule Creates One of College Football's Biggest TV Opportunities

Win or lose, the Texas Longhorns are always one of the centers of attention in the college football. The university's large, worldwide fan base always wants to watch, and the rest of the viewers just hope to see Texas fall victim to one heartbreaking defeat after another.

Throw in a star-studded name like Arch Manning in an elite conference like the SEC, this viewership will only go up.

We already saw what that looked like last season, but things could certainly ramp up a notch this fall based on how Texas' schedule lines up.

Texas Could Break Viewership Records in Multiple Games This Season

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While Manning's presence alone resulted in tons of eyes watching the Longhorns last season, Texas' schedule featured some big-time matchups.

This led to some record-breaking viewership numbers, ones that could be broken as soon as this season considering some of the other games the Longhorns have in store. According to Nielsen, Texas finished last regular season as the second-most watched teams in the country with about 7.5 million viewers per game, behind only Alabama.

Texas vs. Ohio State last season broke records for total Week 1 viewership, as FOX Sports reported 16.6 million viewers for the "Big Noon" matchup in Columbus.

The upcoming matchup between the two teams is set for primetime on ABC. Both programs will likely be in the Top 5 of the AP Poll and could certainly be on track to make viewership history once again.

But it hardly stops there for Texas.

The 13 million viewers for Texas-Texas A&M in last year's regular-season finale set a record for the most-watched college football game on a weekday. The 2026 edition of the Lone Star Showdown in College Station could certainly exceed this total, especially if both teams are still in contention for a College Football Playoff spot.

The Ohio State and Texas A&M games for Texas are likely to be the team's most-watched games of the regular season but other big matchups for the Longhorns that could lead to some massive viewership numbers include at Tennessee (Sept. 26), vs. Ole Miss (Oct. 24) and at LSU (Nov. 14).

The Red River Rivalry with Oklahoma will no doubt draw a notable TV crowd, but the Longhorns are set for new matchups with SEC teams that they haven't played in many years, leading to some added excitement for the neutral fan.

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