How the Longhorns’ Schedule Favors Them in the Long Run

 As the Longhorns kicked off the 2025 season with a loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, many may not realize just how successful they’ll be later on because of the Week 1 loss.

The way that Texas fans can think of this loss is like this: imagine turning down a very long street, and immediately there’s a big speed bump in the road. But once past that, there are only some relatively minor bumps and potholes.

Texas took the turn, but the speed bump snuck up on it just a little too quickly. But now, Texas knows what it’s like to hit a bump like that, and it knows what it needs to do now: slow down and prepare for the bump, or in other words, improve on the mistakes that were made that led to the loss to the Buckeyes.

Now that the Longhorns are past Ohio State, now the No. 1-ranked team in the country, many Longhorns now know what it feels like to lose the big games, as well as the feeling of disappointment after defeat.

But now, as Week 2 approaches, No. 7-ranked Texas will return to Austin to face the San Jose State Spartans out of the Mountain West Conference. This game should be one that the Longhorns dominate from start to finish.

The Longhorns will be coming off a loss, looking for vengeance, and doing so against an inferior team. This is what Texas needs coming off a start like it had against Ohio State: an opportunity to find an offensive identity.

But Texas doesn’t just have a small stretch of smooth road ahead of it; the Longhorns will get to coast relatively peacefully, facing UTEP and Sam Houston in the next two weeks that follow the San Jose State matchup.

This is where Texas has the opportunity to prove that it is still a top team in the country, or get too comfortable and fall victim to yet another bump in the road when it faces the No. 13-ranked Florida Gators in The Swamp.

Playing Florida in Gainesville could be tough for the Longhorns, but the thing is, they will have gained all the experience they will need to go into the Gators’ house and walk out with a victory.

Texas will have already played in a tough environment in The Shoe and faced not just a team of similar talent, but superior talent. The Longhorns also get the three weeks beforehand to improve and prove that they are still a top team in the country.

After the trip to Florida, Texas will travel to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry against No. 18 Oklahoma. This is a game that Texas should not lose, considering the emotions and the stakes of this game.

Hopefully, Texas will walk out of Gainesville with a win, but if they don’t, then the game against Oklahoma should just reinforce the fact that they can’t lose and that they must beat their rival in order to somewhat salvage the season.

Either way it goes, the Longhorns are in a good position to build off of the Ohio State loss, dominate three weeks in a row, and then go face two ranked teams and prove just how good they are.

It will be a harsh introduction to conference play, but yet again, this stretch of road only prepares them for what’s ahead: three straight weeks of lower-tier conference opponents in Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt before hitting the road to face the No. 4-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in Athens.

Georgia is where the Longhorns will get their last major regular-season test, and likely the closest competition they’ll get to Ohio State before the Longhorns’ playoff run, assuming Texas makes it in.

If Texas can walk out of Athens with a win, and assuming that they have won out until this point, Texas will likely have positioned itself to continue to win out, beating Arkansas and No. 19 Texas A&M to make an SEC Championship Game appearance. If Texas weren’t to beat Georgia, there would still be a shot at making the SECCG, and even the playoffs, albeit the odds would be low.

The Longhorns would have to avoid getting too comfortable if they were to beat Georgia, because although they should beat the Razorbacks and Aggies if they manage to beat everyone else, a loss could come any given Saturday.

Texas will have to make the best of its schedule and prepare for a battle with the Spartans. Although it shouldn’t exactly be a battle, as the Longhorns are currently favored by 36.5 points. The game will kick off Saturday in DKR at 11 a.m. CT on ABC.