The Southeastern Conference announced Thursday a new scheduling format for football starting in 2026, adding a ninth conference game, keeping long-standing rivalries and mandating all teams play a “high quality nonconference game.

The Longhorns currently have UTSA and UTEP on the schedule for the 2030 and 2031 seasons, respectively. Though Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte has already been adamant about the Longhorns scheduling tough non-conference opponents, the new change now ensures Texas will have some intriguing opponents to look forward to in 2030 and 2031.

Texas football will open the 2024 season, its first as an SEC program, against Colorado State. Longhorns vs. Rams at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Longhorns are the ninth-ranked team in the projections and are being predicted to finish with a record of 9-3. Two SEC teams — Georgia and Alabama — are ranked ahead of Texas, and the Longhorns are only being given a 64 percent chance of making the College Football Playoff.

Texas is the preseason No. 1 team for the first time in program history, so what does that mean for the 2025 Crystal Ball?

If you want to get a ticket to a Longhorns home game you'll have to find it through a secondary market. UT announced all 2025 tickets are sold out.

Arch Manning puts it simply: "I think for greatness you have to be a leader and you have to win games. And so I'm going to try to do both."