Texas doesn’t need a perfect 2026 to stay in the College Football Playoff hunt. But with a schedule loaded with land mines, there are a few dates Steve Sarkisian’s team can’t afford to let slip away.
LonghornsWire singled out Tennessee, Oklahoma and Missouri as three games that look like true must-wins for Texas, and the logic is easy to follow. The Longhorns will already be dealing with heavyweight matchups against No.
1 Ohio State, LSU and Texas A&M. Those are the kinds of games that can swing a season at the national level.
The bigger danger, though, is dropping one the Longhorns should reasonably handle.
Texas already found out how costly that can be in 2025. Losses to Ohio State and Georgia could be explained.
The one that really hurt was the upset at Florida, a defeat that ended up leaving Texas outside the CFP. One ugly Saturday can undo a whole résumé.
That’s why the Sept. 26 trip to No. 18 Tennessee stands out immediately.
Neyland Stadium will be a brutal setting, with more than 100,000 fans on hand for Texas’ visit. Still, if the Longhorns see themselves as a real national-title contender, this is the kind of game they have to win.
It’s also Texas’ SEC opener, which only raises the cost of an early stumble.
Two weeks later comes another pressure point: No. 9 Oklahoma on Oct. 10 in Dallas.
The Red River Rivalry usually has its own rhythm, and quarterback John Mateer gives the Sooners real upside after fighting through a hand injury in 2025. Both teams will come in off byes, so there won’t be any built-in excuse about rest or preparation.
That makes it the kind of game that can tilt on execution alone.
Missouri is the third game on the list, and the timing makes it especially tricky. Texas heads to Columbia one week before a trip to LSU in Baton Rouge, with Texas A&M still waiting later in November.
The Tigers may not carry the same star power as those other opponents, but that doesn’t make them harmless. A slip at Faurot Field could wreck the rhythm Texas has built.
Seven preseason-ranked opponents are on the 2026 slate, so this isn’t about demanding perfection. Texas can take a punch from a heavyweight and still be fine. What it can’t seem to survive is another Florida-style upset.
In Other News...
Former Texas Receiver Is Already Adding Fuel To Red River Tension
Texas spent the offseason reshaping its wide receiver room, bringing in Cam Coleman, Sterling Berkhalter and Jermaine Bishop Jr. while also absorbing the loss of Parker Livingstone and DeAndre Moore Jr. to transfers. The turnover matters even more because Livingstone did not just leave the program, he landed at Oklahoma, instantly giving the Red River Rivalry a little extra edge before the teams even get to the cotton field.
The move has already stirred up the kind of back-and-forth that tends to follow this matchup, with Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian weighing in and Livingstone answering back during Sooners fall camp. With both sides familiar with the names involved and the rivalry always willing to turn a small storyline into a big one, this years meeting already has the feel of a game where every reception and every sideline exchange will be watched a little closer. [Read more 🡒]
Sarkisian Is Pushing Texas Toward A Standard Fans Demand
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Along with the roster movement, Sarkisian has also pointed to discipline as an area that has to improve after penalties became an issue last season. The broader Texas spotlight has only grown, too, with basketball coach Sean Miller recently putting freshman Marcus Spears Jr. on display, another reminder that in Austin the expectations stretch well beyond one season or one sport, and the standard fans want is the one Sarkisian keeps chasing. [Read more 🡒]
Former Texas RB Reopens An Uncomfortable Tom Herman Debate
Chris Warren IIIs recent social media comments pulled an old Texas football season back into the spotlight, this time with a reminder that the 2017 campaign under Tom Herman was not as straightforward as the record might suggest. Herman ultimately won four bowl games in four years and never finished below .500 in Austin, but Warren, who spent one season playing for him, pointed to issues behind the scenes that were not visible to the public at the time.
For Longhorns fans, it is another uncomfortable look at a tenure that still inspires debate because the results and the atmosphere around the program did not always match up cleanly. Warren did not spell everything out, but his remarks were enough to reopen questions about what that team was dealing with internally and how much of Hermans Texas story was never reflected on the field. [Read more 🡒]