In the age of massive conferences and the 12-team College Football Playoff, the idea of teams scheduling big non-conference games early in the season is under more scrutiny than ever. After all, if teams can still make the CFP with “weak” schedules, then what’s the point of risking another loss?
Luckily, many teams around the country still see the value of these games, and the Texas Longhorns are one of them. On Aug. 31, Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns will kick off the 2025 campaign on the road against the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes, the very same team that ended their 2024 season in the semifinals. There are some very compelling games in Week 1, but this one looks like the clear headliner and one of the best games of the entire year.
It may not make for the easiest path to the CFP, but that’s exactly why Steve Sarkisian and co. like it.
“I love the opportunity,” Sarkisian said on FOX Sports’ “The Herd.” “It’s great for our players in summer workouts and in training camp to know who we’re getting ready to go play and the task at hand. I think now, to your point with the expanded playoffs, as long as we don’t punish those teams for going to play those games then it’s great for college football.”
“It’s opening weekend. It’s Texas at Ohio State. It’s a rematch of the semifinal game in last year’s playoffs. It’s great for their program. It’s great for our program, because that’s what the players we recruit… want to play in. They want to be in those big-time games.”
