The first game in the state of Texas at the FBS ranks takes place in Week 0 when newly minted ACC program SMU travels to Nevada to start the season. The other 12 FBS programs in the Lone Star State begin normally in Week 1. And while there are a ton of big games on the schedule featuring out-of-state opponents such as Texas’ trip to Michigan in Week 2, we concentrate on the 10 best games featuring two teams from the Great State. 

1. Texas Longhorns at Texas A&M Aggies (Week 14) 

This one is a no brainer. The biggest rivalry in the Southwest returns as a marquee matchup in the Southeastern Conference when the Horns travel 90 miles down Texas State Highway 21 to College Station for the first time since 2021. While this game doesn’t need any extra stakes, its position on the calendar could prove interesting. Texas could be in SEC championship contention. With the expanded playoffs, both could theoretically be in the CFP discussion, as well.  

2. UTSA Roadrunners at Texas State Bobcats (Week 2) 

The yearly duel between UTSA-Texas State dispels the notion that a true rivalry doesn’t start until both teams win a game. The Roadrunners are 5-0 on the gridiron over their I-35 neighbors, but that doesn’t mean both fan bases don’t care…a lot. And this year is the biggest contest yet between the two schools because both enter 2024 as contenders for the G5 spot in the CFP. 

3. TCU Horned Frogs at SMU Mustangs (Week 4) 

The Iron Skillet is slowly cooling because of off-field pettiness, so we must enjoy the Metroplex rivalry while we can in hopes that it returns now that both programs are on equal footing. TCU returned to the Power Five ranks in 2012 with an invite to the Big 12. SMU is now in the P4 ranks after joining the ACC. Sonny Dykes is on a four-game winning streak in this one, claiming the last two iron skillets as the head man for TCU. 

4. Texas Tech Red Raiders at TCU Horned Frogs (Week 9) 

There’s a scenario in which this game eliminates one of our in-state programs from Big 12 contention. If a team from the Lone Star State does emerge in the Big 12, it’ll be either TCU or Texas Tech. Only one team can remain standing in this one. Both teams also recruit in the same regions and on-field bragging rights helps close those deals. Josh Hoover vs. Behren Morton is intriguing. 

5. Rice Owls at Houston Cougars (Week 3)

The Owls took home the Bayou Bucket last season and laid the groundwork for the eventual dismissal of Dana Holgorsen. Willie Fritz wants to prove it is a new era by taking back Houston in 2024. Rice is the most intact team in Texas, however, and Mike Bloomgren is the longest-tenured head coach in the state. Is another upset in the wings? 

6. Sam Houston Bearkats at UTEP Miners (Week 6) 

A Conference USA showdown in West Texas takes place in midweek of a midseason clash at the Sun Bowl. Sam Houston head coach K.C. Keeler is the fourth oldest in FBS football. New UTEP head man Scotty Walden is the second youngest. Last year’s contest between these two teams was a classic that the Miners won late by three points. 

7. North Texas Mean Green at UTSA Roadrunners (Week 12) 

One of the more heated rivalries in the G5 ranks heads to San Antonio in 2024. The Roadrunners lead the series 7-5 thanks to a three-game winning streak. 

8. Texas State Bobcats at Sam Houston Bearkats (Week 5) 

A once heated rivalry in the FCS ranks returns as an FBS clash at NRG Stadium in Houston. These two teams 91 times in the 94 seasons spanning 1915 to 2011 when the Bobcats made the jump. The Bearkats followed suit in 2023. Texas State leads the all-time series 50-36-5. 

9. TCU Horned Frogs at Baylor Bears (Week 10)

Speaking of long-standing rivalries, TCU travels to Baylor late in the season to continue the most played intrastate rivalry in Texas. In a Bizarro World situation, Kendal Briles is in purple while Gary Patterson is in green. Baylor plans to celebrate the 2013 and 2014 Big 12 champion teams on that date. 

10. UTSA Roadrunners at Texas Longhorns (Week 3) 

In a glimpse at the new-look college football landscape, this could involve two future college football playoff teams. The Roadrunners head to the Forty Acres a week after the Horns tangle with Michigan at the Big House.