Texas Longhorns 2024 opponents ranked by difficulty

2024 sets up to be one of the most anticipated seasons in Texas history. Not since the Vince Young/Colt McCoy era have expectations been so high.

Coming off a college football playoff semifinal appearance, a Big 12 title in the final year in the league and a Heisman candidate at QB, the No. 4 Longhorns are riding high. Throw in the fact that this is the season the much-anticipated switch to the SEC happens, and the hype meter might explode.

More on Texas Longhorns 2024 Schedule:

Texas’ schedule is tough. There are trips to Ann Arbor and College Station, a home game against the No. 1 team and of course a trip to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Here is a ranking of Texas’ opponents based on difficulty and location:

12. September 21: vs. UL Monroe Warhawks

New Head Coach Bryant Vincent takes over a program that is one of the worst in college football. In 37 years at the FBS level, ULM has just three winning seasons, the last coming 12 years ago. The Warhawks have just one bowl appearance in history (2012) and they lost it.

11. August 31: vs. Colorado State Rams

The Rams had a nice run in the 2020s under head coach Sonny Lubick. But those days are gone. In 2023, Colorado State improved to 5-7 from 3-9 the year before. Current CSU coach Jay Norvell is hoping to continue the upward trend, but starting the season in Austin won’t help the cause.

10. October 26: at Vanderbilt Commodores

Nicknamed the “SEC Bye Week,” Vanderbilt is rarely competitive. The Commodores haven’t had a winning season in a decade. Vandy lost every SEC game last season by double-digits. The program has only been to nine bowl games in its history.

9. September 14: vs. UTSA Roadrunners

UTSA is better than most Longhorns fans may realize. The Roadrunners have been a Group of Five power over the past three seasons, winning 32 games. A conference switch from C-USA to the AAC led to a bit of a step backwards, but UTSA can be dangerous.

8. September 28: vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Texas’ SEC journey begins with Mississippi State, so there should be a lot of emotion on the Texas side. The Bulldogs should be more explosive under new Head Coach Jeff Lebby. Lebby has relied heavily on the transfer portal to beef up Hail State, but this should be an easy win for the Horns.

7. November 9: vs. Florida Gators

The former superpower has been down over the past several years. Gators coach Billy Napier has gone 11-14 over the past two seasons. If Florida struggles, it could be his last season in the Swamp. Playing Texas in Austin won’t help his cause.

6. November 16: at Arkansas Razorbacks

Texas’ age-old rivalry with the Hogs will burn very hot again in the SEC. Arkansas fans are still raised to hate Texas. Steve Sarkisian found that out in 2021, when the Horns were smashed by the Hogs 40-21 in Fayetteville in front of a raucous crowd.

5. November 23: vs. Kentucky Wildcats

The Wildcats are the fourth best SEC team Texas will face this season. While down a bit last season at 7-6, Mark Stoops, the longest tenured coach in the league, should have UK on the uptick this year. The weekend before the A&M game, Kentucky sets up to be a classic ‘trap game.’

4. October 12: vs. Oklahoma Sooners (in Dallas)

Even though Texas was a much better team than the Sooners last season, OU still won the Red River Rivalry. The neutral site setting makes Texas-OU one of the toughest rivalries to predict. Oklahoma’s offense should be more better this season with former North Texas head coach Seth Littrell joining Joe Jon Finley to run the attack.

3. September 7: at Michigan Wolverines

In Ann Arbor against the defending national champs will be a huge challenge for the Longhorns early in the season. There’s been a lot of changes for the Wolverines since they won the national championship a few months ago. But Big Blue is still stacked.

2. November 30: at Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggies are a bit of an unknown under new coach Mike Elko. He has to be better than Jimbo Fisher was in his final years in College Station, right? Add the atmosphere and the hatred raining down from Kyle Field and this game becomes extremely tricky.

1. October 19: vs. Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia is the No. 1 team in the nation heading into the 2024 season. The Bulldogs will be tested before arriving in Austin in October. UGA opens against Clemson in Atlanta and face Alabama, Kentucky and Auburn before its date with Texas. If Georgia is still undefeated, watch out.

This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas Longhorns 2024 opponents ranked by difficulty