The Texas Longhorns have made headlines recently ahead of the release of the College Football Playoff bracket.
A major conversation surrounding the program has revolved around the potential of cancelling future non-conference games against major opponents due to the idea that Texas, with a 9-3 record, is being held back from the College Football Playoff this season due to its 14-7 loss to Ohio State in the season opener.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has been at the forefront of threatening to cancel some of the team’s future matchups for the benefit of the program, but said Wednesday that any major decision on that front is still far out from happening.
Steve Sarkisian Confirms Plans vs. Ohio State, Michigan
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian before the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
Texas has home games scheduled against Ohio State in 2026 and Michigan in 2027, but Sarkisian said that the Longhorns will be honoring those matchups after playing both teams on the road over the past two seasons.
“We’re going to honor Ohio State and Michigan,” Sarkisian said. “We went there, we went to Ann Arbor, went to Columbus. We’re going to honor those return trips. So for the next two years, we know what our non-conference schedule is going to look like, and that’s the right thing to do. We made the commitment to play them, and will honor that commitment for them to come play us here.”
However, Sarkisian said that anything beyond 2027 is not a guarantee.
Texas vs. Notre Dame Not Safe From Being Cancelled
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates with player after a touchdown against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images
“I think anything beyond that is up for discussion,” Sarkisian said. “CDC and I’ve already had that discussion, we need to take a good, hard look at what our non-conference schedule looks like beyond the next two years.”
Texas has a home-and-home set with Notre Dame for the 2028 and 2029 seasons. If those matchups stay, the Longhorns will head to South Bend in 2028 before returning back to Austin to play the Fighting Irish the following season.
And if you want to look even further down the line, Texas has a home-and-home with the Arizona State Sun Devils in 2032 and 2033. The Longhorns do not currently have any games scheduled against Power 4 opponents for the 2030 and 2031 seasons, with only UTSA and UTEP set for those years, respectively.
The Longhorns are not officially eliminated from CFP contention just yet, but it’s an inevitability at this point. Unless the committee makes a shocking and controversial decision and puts Texas in, the danger of the Notre Dame series getting cancelled will remain a possibility.
