Texas football may be on a bye, but the Longhorns still have plenty going on this weekend.
If you’re looking for burnt orange to follow on Saturday, the schedule is packed with other Texas programs, and several of them are taking on high-profile opponents. Volleyball, women’s soccer and cross country all give fans something to watch while Steve Sarkisian, Arch Manning and Colin Simmons are off the field.
At Gregory Gym, Jerritt Elliott’s volleyball team has a busy home slate ahead with two matches in conference play. First up is Mississippi State, a team that has been one of the early surprises of the season at 11-1 overall. Texas, meanwhile, is 5-5 and trying to steady itself against a Bulldogs squad that has come out hot.
Two days later, Alabama comes to Austin. The Crimson Tide have opened 8-3 and have not beaten Texas since the Horns entered the SEC in 2024.
Soccer is also part of the weekend’s lineup, and the Longhorns will host Oklahoma in the first Red River Rivalry matchup of the year. Under new head coach Margueritte Bates, Texas has gone 6-2-3 so far after a rough 2025 season in which the program won only four games.
Cross country will be on the road as both the men’s and women’s teams head to Fayetteville, AR, for the Chile Pepper Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3.
So while the football team gets its bye, Texas fans still have a full slate of Longhorns action to keep an eye on.
In Other News...
Colin Simmons Gave Texas Fans Another Reason To Question The SEC
Colin Simmons gave Texas exactly the kind of breakout afternoon that gets remembered long after the final whistle. The Longhorns edge rusher posted a career-high 5.5 sacks against Tennessee and set a new program single-game sack record, a performance so disruptive that it instantly became one of the biggest individual highlights of the season for Texas.
Even so, the weekly conference honors did not follow in the way many expected, even as Simmons picked up multiple national awards after the game. For Texas fans, it only added another wrinkle to the ongoing debate over how much the SEC values what happened on the field versus everything that surrounded it. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Pass Rush Is Becoming A Serious SEC Problem
Texas has found a pass-rush pairing that is starting to change the conversation around its defense. Colin Simmons and Lance Jackson have been two of the biggest reasons the Longhorns have looked so disruptive early, combining for 29 tackles and 9.5 sacks while giving the front seven a much-needed edge in SEC play. Their pressure has been a steady theme for a defense that is trying to prove it can hold up when the schedule gets heavier.
Simmons, in particular, has already delivered the kind of breakout performance that puts a player on the league-wide radar, and Jackson has helped make sure the offense cannot focus its attention in one spot. For Texas, the bigger picture is obvious: if the pass rush keeps winning on obvious passing downs, the Longhorns can make life a lot harder on the teams standing between them and a playoff run. The next test is whether this early momentum holds when opponents start planning for it every week. [Read more 🡒]
Bijan Robinsons Latest NFL Statement Has Texas Fans Beaming
Bijan Robinson keeps giving Texas fans a reason to check Sundays with a little extra pride. The former Longhorn put together another standout showing against Green Bay, piling up 213 total scrimmage yards and finding the end zone twice, a reminder that his all-around game has translated cleanly to the pro level. He is also off to a strong early-season start, sitting near the top of the league in both rushing and receiving production.
The latest recognition adds to the sense that Robinson is becoming one of the NFLs most reliable matchup problems, especially away from home. His recent run has put him in rare company and given Texas supporters plenty to celebrate, even if the bigger picture around how high he can climb this season is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]