The Longhorns are expected to once again have one of the best defenses in college football, brought in a top six recruiting class, and some services believe Texas has the most talented roster in the sport.At least by recruiting rankings.
They also finished out their 2025 season with wins over Texas A&M and Michigan, taking some momentum into a pivotal 2026.Unfortunately, despite all these factors aligning in their favor, the Longhorns also have arguably the toughest schedule in the country.They host Ohio State, play at Tennessee, have the traditional Red River Shootout against Oklahoma, host Ole Miss, play at LSU, and at Texas A&M.
With that schedule, the Longhorns could be a significantly improved team from 2025 and still finish 9-3 without playing poorly.WHICH TEAMS HAVE THE TOUGHEST STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE HEADING INTO COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON?Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns on the field prior to a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Nov.22, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
(Alex Slitz/Getty Images)But that might not be the biggest hurdle in head coach Steve Sarkisian's quest to bring a national title home to Austin.It's being mentally tired.
Seriously.Sarkisian revealed on a recent podcast that their loss to Ohio State in the 2024-2025 College Football Playoff was due to the Longhorns being "tired."ARCH MANNING'S NFL STAR GRANDFATHER LAMENTS HYPE AROUND TEXAS QUARTERBACK"I felt like the year we played Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, we were tired, and not necessarily physically tired," Sarkisian said."We were mentally fatigued as well.
That’s a long season.We had so many big games.
So I think managing it this time around, how we manage their energy level, is as important as how we manage their legs and the physicality."Every team is tired at the end of a college football season.Every team deals with injuries and mental fatigue.
And it's the job of a coach to prepare the players for each and every ...