Texas football adding major opponent even though Longhorns aren’t sure about SEC’s long-term schedule format
Texas will play Notre Dame in home-and-home contract in 2028 and 2029
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte and coach Steve Sarkisian aren’t afraid to play marquee names, no matter how tough the SEC appears to be.
Texas has reached an agreement to play Notre Dame in a home-and-home series in 2028 and 2029, the school announced Tuesday. The Longhorns will go to South Bend, Ind., first and then the Fighting Irish will come to Austin the following year.
The two schools have met 12 times dating back to 1913 with the Irish holding a lopsided 9-3 record. But each of the last four games dating back to 1995 have been memorable in their own ways.
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The last two tested both extremes of the Texas fan base. The 2015 season opener was an epic road trip to Chicago, where UT fans filled Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon and sang “The Eyes of Texas” with glee. The next day, their football team got throttled 38-3 and coach Charlie Strong fired offensive coordinator Shawn Watson when they got home.
The following year, Texas won a 50-47 thriller in double overtime as Tyrone Swoopes dove into the end zone and ABC’s Joe Tessitore screamed “Texas is back, folks!” No, they weren’t. As exciting as that game was, the Horns went 5-7 and Strong was fired.
The best games longtime fans remember happened in the Cotton Bowl after the 1969, 1970 and 1977 regular seasons. The Horns and Irish split the first two matchups even though coach Darrell Royal’s teams were named national champions. Earl Campbell had a 100-yard day, but Notre Dame still won 1978 Cotton Bowl by a 38-10 final.
By scheduling Notre Dame, Texas has completed its 2028 and 2029 schedules even though it’s unclear whether the SEC will stick with an eight-game schedule or go with nine games starting in 2026.
As of now, Texas will play Louisiana Tech, Notre Dame and UTSA on the 2028 non-conference slate. In 2029, UT will play Louisiana-Monroe, UTEP and Notre Dame.
