Texas will be kicking off a little earlier in each of the next two seasons, with four home games now moved up one week after the NCAA’s FBS Oversight Committee approved an earlier start to the college football calendar.
Texas Athletics announced Thursday that the Longhorns’ 2027 home opener against New Mexico State at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium has been shifted to August 28. Michigan’s return trip to Austin will now land on September 4, and Texas’ home game against UTEP is set for September 11. In 2028, the Longhorns’ home matchup with Louisiana Tech has been moved to August 26.
The schedule changes line up with the NCAA’s decision to push the season’s opening week up by one week beginning next session. What had been called “Week Zero” will now officially serve as college football’s first week.
The Michigan game will be the second meeting in a home-and-home series that started with Texas’ 31-12 win in Ann Arbor on September 7, 2024. It will also be the Longhorns’ fourth all-time matchup with the Wolverines and their first in Austin. Texas has won all three previous meetings, including the 2004 Rose Bowl thriller, 38-37, and last year’s 41-27 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl victory.
Texas has been just as successful in its other newly adjusted home dates. The Longhorns are 5-0 all-time against New Mexico State, with every game played in Austin since the series began in 1996.
They’re also unbeaten in seven meetings with UTEP, a run that includes last season’s 27-10 win at home. Against Louisiana Tech, Texas has only one previous game, a 45-14 victory in 2019.
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