Texas A&M suffered a season-altering loss to Texas for the second straight year, but can look to recent history as a blueprint for winning a CFP national title.

The Texas Longhorns are bringing back a familiar face with the hiring of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. The Texas Longhorns came out of nowhere with a shocking change to the coaching staff on Thursday, firing defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and defensive pass game coordinator Duane Akina.

Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Texas Tech are all playing for a chance to win a College Football Playoff championship.

The Longhorns' schedule includes an early battle at home against Ohio State and a slate of in-state opponents, including Texas State, UTSA and Texas A&M.

Texas is staring down a very important portal/retention period and I've highlighted six players Sarkisian needs to hold onto heading into 2026:

JT Geraci, a New Jersey native, made his commitment to the Longhorns after they beat out Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt for one of the country's most versatile players. Geraci is the third member of the cycle and the first tight end for head coach Steve Sarkisian in the class.

With Guilbeau opting out, the Texas secondary is now down two players who started for most of the regular season. All-American safety Michael Taaffe also will skip the Citrus Bowl in order to prepare for the draft.