Hours after releasing a conference-only schedule, the Texas Longhorns have officially unveiled their lone 2020 nonconference opponent.
The Longhorns will face off against the UTEP Miners on Sept. 12 at Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium. With the Big 12 moving to a one-game nonconference slate, UTEP is the only nonconference game on the schedule.
Texas previously scheduled a matchup with UTEP on Sept. 19, one of three nonconference matchups. However, when the SEC cancelled nonconference play, it took a matchup against LSU off the table. The Longhorns opted to keep their date with UTEP over a matchup with South Florida.
Keeping the matchup with UTEP makes sense for a variety of reasons. Primarily, the matchup allows UTEP to receive the $1.4 million payment promised by the Longhorns. This allows the money to stay within the University of Texas system.
Additionally, a matchup with South Florida would require the Bulls to travel from Florida – a hotspot of the COVID-19 pandemic – to Texas – another hotspot.
The Longhorns and Miners have faced off five times, with UT winning all five matchups. Most recently, the Longhorns won a 41-7 decision over the Miners in 2016. UTEP has won a combined two games over the past two seasons.
Here is the Texas Longhorns' completed 2020 schedule:
- Sept. 12: UTEP
- Sept. 26: at Texas Tech
- Oct. 3: TCU
- Oct. 10: Oklahoma (NEU)
- Oct. 24: Baylor
- Oct. 31: at Oklahoma State
- Nov. 7: West Virginia
- Nov. 21: at Kansas
- Nov. 28: Iowa State
- Dec. 5: at Kansas State
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