Texas 2026 Schedule Re-Rank: Who is toughest Longhorns opponent left?

Over the summer, we took a good look at the Texas Longhorns schedule. We ranked all of the UT opponents from easiest to hardest, highlighted three very dangerous games and three games Texas must win . But with a third of the season in the books, a few things have changed.

A big change from preseason is that Texas is now the No. 1 team in the nation. The Longhorns have vanquished Ohio State , the then No. 1 team, at home in Austin. The Horns also held on against No. 14 ranked Tennessee in Knoxville.

At the beginning of the season, there were seven ranked teams on UT's schedule. There are still seven, but a few of the teams have switched.

The struggles of Texas A&M and Oklahoma have seen both teams fall from the preseason top ten all the way out of the Top 25. But Mississippi State and Florida are both much better than anyone anticipated and have taken the place of the Longhorns rivals in the poll.

The Longhorns only have one game left against a team that hasn't been ranked at all in 2026.

Here is a re-ranking of the remaining Longhorns opponents now that we have a better sense of the quality of each team:

8. Arkansas Razorbacks in Austin on Nov. 21

Analysis : The Hogs move up a spot only because Texas has played four games and two of the teams UT has played where higher on the original list (Tennessee and Ohio State). Mississippi State has leaped over the Razorbacks from our original ranking.

Arkansas is the worst team remaining on the Longhorns schedule. The Razorbacks have wins over North Alabama and Tulsa, but the Hogs were dominated by Georgia and Utah. The game at A&M this week should be interesting.

7. Oklahoma Sooners in Dallas on Oct. 10

Analysis : Most experts thought the Sooners would be as good, if not better, than last season that saw the Sooners make the College Football Playoff. Something Texas didn't do. OU was 9-3 last year, with losses to Texas, Ole Miss and Alabama in the CFP.

But the Sooners are not as good as last year, especially quarterback John Mateer . The Sooners were beaten by a very suspect Michigan team and where humiliated at Georgia last week. OU barely beat lowly New Mexico in Week 2. We listed the Red River Shootout as a must-win game in the preseason and that's even more true now since the Sooners have been abject through four games.

6. Missouri Tigers in Columbia on Nov. 11

Analysis : The Tigers are roughly what they were at the beginning of the season. There was an expectation Missouri would be undefeated right now, but the Tigers ran into a much-improved Mississippi State team last week. Mizzou's schedule is about to get a lot tougher, starting with Florida on Saturday.

Mizzou is still ranked, the game is still in Columbia, so this is no gimme for the Horns.

5. Texas A&M Aggies in College Station on Nov. 27

Analysis : Like they have in the polls, the Aggies have plummeted down this list. Almost no team in college football has choked on its expectations more than the Aggies. A&M's rough first half against Arizona State wasn't an aberration, it was a warning of things to come. The Ags have been beaten at home by Kentucky and were destroyed by LSU over the past two weeks.

The Lone Star Shootout will still be a difficult date for Texas. The Aggies are still the Horns biggest rivals and the game is still on the road with 100,000 Aggie fans screaming hatred at UT. But it is hard to imagine QB Marcel Reed and the Texas A&M offense having much, if any, success against the Texas defense.

4. Mississippi State Bulldogs in Austin on Oct. 31

Analysis : This is Texas' third season in the SEC and the Bulldogs have been conference cellar dwellers for most of that period. But not this year. Behind sophomore QB Kamario Taylor , Hail State is one of the best stories in college football this season.

Texas struggled against the Bulldogs last year, needing overtime to vanquish Mississippi State. The 2025 Longhorns were still finding their footing when they visited Starkville. UT gets Hail State in Austin this year, but the Bulldogs are much better.

Analysis : The Rebels are a top ten team this year and have one huge win under their belt, beating LSU at home in Week 3. But Ole Miss was also humbled in the Swamp against Florida last Saturday.

Mississippi is a very good SEC team with possibly the best quarterback in the nation in Trinidad Chambliss . If you have a good quarterback, you can compete against anyone. This is a dangerous game for Texas. Coming out of the OU game, the Longhorns play five ranked opponents in a row. The Ole Miss game could be pivotal.

Analysis : LSU could be very good by the time Texas travels to Death Valley. The Tigers lost to Ole Miss in a revenge game for the Rebels, who were jilted by coach Lane Kiffin in the offseason. LSU walked into a hornets nest and got stung.

But the Tigers looked dominant in their win against Texas A&M at home last week. Tiger Stadium is one of the toughest places to play in the nation and, no matter how good the Longhorns defense is, Kiffin will find ways to score.

Analysis : Florida has been the most impressive team in the SEC, besides Georgia. New coach Jon Sumrall has revived a traditional power that has been dormant for almost a decade. Florida has crushed all four of its opponents this season, including an impressive blowout of Ole Miss last week.

The Longhorns have struggled with Florida since joining the SEC, even though the Gators have been down. In 2024, UT had to pull away late to shake Florida in Austin. And we all know what happened last year. The Horns went into the Swamp and where manhandled. That loss is the biggest reason Texas missed the CFP.

Texas catches a break that the game is in Austin. But Florida looks like one of the best teams in the nation. This game is only two weeks from now and if both teams hold serve, it will be one of the most-hyped and most dangerous games on the Longhorns schedule.

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