Not all roads in college football are created the same, and the seven Power Four programs in the state of Texas are perfect illustrations.

Compare schedules of Texas and Texas Tech and the idea that the Longhorns need to offload some marquee non-conference games starts to make sense, even if that sentiment feels against the spirit of college football. The two SEC programs — Texas and Texas A&M — face the toughest roads. The Red Raiders face the easiest. 

1. Texas Longhorns 

Toughest games:  vs. Ohio State, vs. Oklahoma, vs. Ole Miss, at LSU, at Texas A&M 

Four of Texas’ 12 regular season games are against teams that were in last season’s College Football Playoff. That starts with a Week 2 visit from Ohio State. The Horns were favored by the SEC scheduling gods in their first two seasons in the conference, but that luck runs out with a 2026 slate that includes a home game against Ole Miss and trips to Tennessee, Missouri, LSU, and Texas A&M. Not to mention the annual Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma and a Florida team that beat Texas in 2025. This is one of the toughest schedules in America and easily the toughest in Texas. 

2. Texas A&M Aggies 

Toughest games: at LSU, at Alabama, at Oklahoma, at Texas 

It turns out that the 2025 Texas A&M schedule was relatively easy, especially by SEC standards. That won’t be the case in 2026. The non-conference slate trades Notre Dame for Arizona State, but the road in the SEC is significantly tougher than last year and includes trips to LSU, Alabama, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The Aggies host Tennessee and Texas in November. Four of the last five games are against teams that finished 2025 in the AP Top 25, and the one outlier is the trip to South Carolina. Repeating the magic of an 11-1 season against this schedule would be a Herculean effort. 

3. Houston Cougars 

Toughest games: at Texas Tech, at Kansas State, at Utah 

Big 12 schedules are split into two categories: ones with five road games and ones with only four. The Coogs must go on the road five times in Big 12 play for the 2026 season and each one of those trips is to historically tough places for visiting teams to win. That starts with Texas Tech in Week 3 and continues with October road trips to Kansas State and Utah. Don’t overlook November trips to Colorado and West Virginia, which take place on back-to-back weeks. Houston enjoyed a relatively easy road to a nine-win regular season last year. It’ll be tougher to do that in 2026 because of those road games. 

4. Baylor Bears 

Toughest games: vs. Auburn (neutral), at Arizona State, vs. TCU, at BYU, vs. Texas Tech, at Houston

Baylor is another Big 12 program with five conference road trips ahead of it in 2026, including trips to Arizona State, BYU, and Houston. Auburn in Week 1 is considered a neutral site game but the stands will tell a different story considering the contest is in Atlanta, deep in SEC country. A home game against TCU on Oct. 17 looms large for Dave Aranda & Co. The Bears close the season with a three-week stretch that starts with a trip to BYU, continues with a home game against Texas Tech, and ends with a visit to Houston in the regular season finale. 

5. TCU Horned Frogs 

Toughest games: vs. BYU, vs. Kansas State, vs. Utah, at Texas Tech 

The good news for the Frogs is that most of the toughest games on the schedule, at least on paper, are in Fort Worth, including tilts against BYU, Kansas State, and Utah. The bad news is that the season begins with a flight across the pond to face North Carolina in Ireland and we’ve seen how that trip can derail seasons for teams like Florida State and Kansas State. The toughest road trips are to Baylor in mid-October and to Texas Tech to close the regular season. November looks like a challenge as TCU closes with a trip to Arizona, home games against KSU and Utah, and then the visit to Lubbock. 

6. SMU Mustangs 

Toughest games: at Florida State, at Louisville, at Notre Dame 

The Mustangs avoided regular season games against Clemson and Miami for the second time in three years as ACC members. In fairness, they did beat both of those teams in 2025 but it is always nice to avoid the programs with the most pure talent in the conference. SMU does go on the road twice for ACC games in the first three weeks of the season with a Week 1 trip to Florida State and a Week 3 visit to Louisville. The late-season trek to Notre Dame is the toughest game on the schedule but that won’t count towards conference standings. 

7. Texas Tech Red Raiders 

Toughest games: vs. Houston, vs. Arizona State, vs. TCU 

The Red Raiders are the clear favorite in the Big 12 and one of the reasons is the schedule. The non-conference slate includes home games against Abilene Christian and Sam Houston with a Week 2 visit to Oregon State. Texas Tech only travels four times in Big 12 play and none of those are against teams considered true contenders for the conference title, though visits to Oklahoma State and Baylor could prove tougher in November than they do now. Home games against Houston, Arizona State, Arizona, and TCU are probably the biggest hurdles. Tech avoids Utah, BYU, and Kansas State.