Texas Longhorns Set to Silence Schedule Critics in 2025?

After years of Texas fans hearing about the gauntlet that is an SEC regular season schedule, it only took one season before a big criticism of the Longhorns was their conference schedule.

All it took was one season for the Longhorns to make it to Atlanta for an SEC Championship, something their in-state rivals, the Texas A&M Aggies, have yet to do despite being in the conference since 2012, but the critics say that was because Texas had an "easy" schedule.

Yet, as the Longhorns prepare for their season in the SEC, where the opponents will be the same, but the home and road games just flipped from a year ago, the same criticisms about an "easy" schedule look to be going away. In his recent article previewing the conference, ESPN's Bill Connelly had Texas playing in three of the top-10 games for the season.

Texas @ Ohio State

How could this not make the list? These two teams faced each other in the College Football Playoff last season, with the Buckeyes winning and moving on to win a national championship. Now the two will meet again in a game that will look much different.

As Connelly notes, there are "questions" about both teams as each side loses a lot of NFL talent from a year ago. Yet, the Longhorns and Buckeyes are still being projected as two of the best teams in the country.

Texas @ Florida

Not only does this game make the list because what was a home game for Texas last season is now a matchup, but also because expectations for the Gators have risen heading into 2025.

"Texas benefited from an easier slate (relatively speaking) in 2024, with just three regular-season opponents finishing in the SP+ top 20," Connelly writes. "But if Florida and Oklahoma improve as projected this fall, the Horns are looking at five such games, only one of which is in Austin. That's the opposite of easy."

The Gators closed out last season as one of the hottest teams, winning each of their last four games. That end-of-season winning streak saw them knock off two ranked opponents in LSU and Ole Miss. Now, as they return a lot from last season, including quarterback DJ Lagway, there is a lot of excitement in Gainesville.

Texas @ Georgia

This matchup will be as anticipated as any. Maybe the most anticipated game for the Longhorns this season, as the Bulldogs got the better of Texas in each of their matchups last season. Revenge will be the storyline for Texas heading into Athens, and what better way to get that than by ending Georgia's home winning streak that currently sits at 31 games?

"Georgia was the only SEC hurdle Texas couldn't clear last season," Connelly writes. "There's obviously a chance this will be the first of two UGA-UT matchups in a four-week span."