Between September 20 and November 1 — the span in which the Texas Longhorns hosts Sam Houston and, finally, Vanderbilt the day after Halloween — the football program will play six consecutive away games.

Texas' No. 1 AP preseason ranking is a first for the Longhorns and their highest to start the season since being No. 2 in 2009, the last time they played for a national title.

Texas earned the No. 1 spot in the preseason AP Poll for the first time in the program's history on Monday morning. The Longhorns slot ahead of No. 2 Penn State and No. 3 Ohio State, who beat Texas in last year's semifinal.