The Arch Manning era begins on the Forty Acres as the Longhorns try to reach the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row after consecutive losses in the semifinal round.

Texas must replace four starters on the offensive line and a pair of key defensive tackles in Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton. Steve Sarkisian has put together one of the deepest and most talented rosters in America, however. The return of C.J. Baxter at running back and defensive stars such as linebacker Anthony Hill, Michael Taaffe, and Colin Simmons give the Horns a chance at the SEC title.  

TEXAS LONGHORNS 

2024 record: 13-3 (7-1), CFP semifinals 

Overview

The Horns caught grief for an easy entrance into the SEC, and the schedule was a smoother ride than say for Oklahoma, but the 2025 slate is no cakewalk. Texas starts the season at Ohio State in a rematch of last season’s Cotton Bowl as the eyes of the football world will be on Arch Manning’s first big start. Road games against Florida and Georgia are the biggest hurdles in SEC play outside of the yearly Red River Rivalry. The schedule does include some of the bottom feeders of the SEC like Mississippi State and Kentucky, but rivalry games at home against Arkansas and Texas A&M could prove tricky. 

Biggest Game – Aug. 30 at Ohio State

Ohio State ended Texas’ 2024 season in the Cotton Bowl during the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff. The defending champion Buckeyes will play host to the Longhorns to start the 2025 season in what should be Arch Manning’s true introduction to the college football world.   

Trap Game – Oct. 4 at Florida

The week before the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma is historically a trap game warning for the Horns. That’s especially true in 2025 when Texas heads to Florida to face super sophomore D.J. Lagway and the Gators in The Swamp seven days before the annual tilt against the Sooners in Dallas.   

Upset Bid – Nov. 15 at Georgia

Texas will be favored in all but two games in the 2025 regular season. One of those underdog moments is against Ohio State in Week 1. The other? On the road against a Georgia squad that beat Texas twice in 2024, including in overtime in the SEC championship game. 

Can’t Lose – Nov. 22 vs. Arkansas 

The home game against an old Southwest Conference rivalry is sandwiched between a trip to Georgia and Texas A&M’s first trip to DKR in over a decade. Your form late in the season helps dictate entry into the CFP and the Horns can’t risk throwing away a game to an average Arkansas squad. Losses like that are what kept Alabama and Ole Miss out of last season’s CFP. 

Most Important Stretch – Oct. 4-Oct. 11

November would be an easy answer because of the trip to Georgia and home games against Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and Texas A&M, but we’ll take the first two weekends of October when the Horns travel to Florida a week before facing a revamped Oklahoma squad at the State Fair. This is especially true if Texas leaves Ohio State with a loss. The Longhorns can’t be 3-3 heading into the “easy” stretch of SEC play or it won’t have the quality wins necessary to make the CFP at the end of the season. 

Full Schedule

Aug. 30                at Ohio State                    
Sept. 6                 San Jose State                 
Sept. 13               UTEP                      
Sept. 20               Sam Houston 
Oct. 4                   at Florida            
Oct. 11                 Oklahoma (Dallas)      
Oct. 18                 at Kentucky      
Oct. 25                 at Mississippi State     
Nov. 1                   Vanderbilt          
Nov. 15                 at Georgia          
Nov. 22                 Arkansas            
Nov. 29                 Texas A&M         

Other Schedule Breakdowns: Texas A&M |