Texas Longhorns to open 2022 Big 12 schedule on the road at Texas Tech

FILE – In this Oct. 10, 2020, file photo, The Red River Showdown logo is displayed on the field of the Cotton Bowl, prior to an NCAA college football game…

FILE – In this Oct. 10, 2020, file photo, The Red River Showdown logo is displayed on the field of the Cotton Bowl, prior to an NCAA college football game between the University of Texas and Oklahoma, in Dallas. Texas and Oklahoma made a request Tuesday, July 27, 2021, to join the Southeastern Conference — in 2025 —- with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey saying the league would consider it in the “near future.” (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth, File)

by: Billy Gates

Posted: Dec 1, 2021 / 01:05 PM CST

Updated: Dec 1, 2021 / 01:15 PM CST

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Big 12 Conference released its football schedule Wednesday, and now the Texas Longhorns schedule in 2022 is complete.

Always the marquee matchup in the Big 12 for the Longhorns is the Red River Showdown with Oklahoma. The two will meet at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during the State Fair of Texas on Oct. 8.

Texas opens its Big 12 schedule on the road Sept. 24 in Lubbock against Texas Tech with the conference home opener the following week against West Virginia.

Other Big 12 home games for the Horns are Oct. 15 against Iowa State, Nov. 12 against TCU and the season finale Nov. 26 against Baylor. Texas travels to both Kansas and Kansas State as well as Oklahoma State in Big 12 play.

The Big 12 championship game is set for Dec. 3 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

The Horns start the 2022 slate with three home games, and one of them is not like the other. After hosting Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 3 to open the season, juggernaut Alabama comes to DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium on Sept. 10. Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian spent three seasons with Alabama, one as an offensive analyst in 2016 and as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2019-2020 after a brief stint in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.

The last time Texas and Alabama played each other was in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Crimson Tide rolled to victory 37-21. The last time the teams met in the regular season was in 1922 in Austin.

Texas’ nonconference schedule wraps up Sept. 17 against the UT-San Antonio Roadrunners, a team that flourished in 2021 with an 11-1 record. UTSA earned a spot in the Conference USA championship game against Western Kentucky on Friday at the Alamodome.

Texas finished the first season under Sarkisian a disappointing 5-7 with a 6-game losing streak before winning the season finale over Kansas State 22-17.

The days in the Big 12 Conference are becoming fewer for the Longhorns. The school is making a move to the Southeastern Conference by 2025, along with Oklahoma.