The Texas Longhorns will host the Tulsa Golden Hurricane during the 2018 football season, according to a report from the Austin American-Statesman.
The school has not yet issued a release confirming the contest.
If the report is accurate, the Golden Hurricane will travel to Austin on September 8, 2018 and receive $1.1 million for playing the game.
And the reported game would also finalize the non-conference schedule for that season, with an opener scheduled against the Maryland Terrapins on September 1 in College Park and a visit from the USC Trojans to follow the game against the Golden Hurricane on September 15.
As the Baylor Bears attempt to battle back for consideration from the College Football Playoff committee amid major questions about the quality of their non-conference schedule, it's increasingly clear that playing high-quality non-conference opponents is critical to have a chance to make it into the top four of the final rankings from the committee.
However, the flip side is that a tough non-conference schedule can make it difficult to become bowl eligible -- Texas has gone 1-2 in that portion of the season each of the last two years and may not reach six wins this season in large part because of those two losses.
So there are risks to the strategy, but the good news is that Longhorns fans will be able to see quality non-conference games at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium over the coming years, including visits from Notre Dame, LSU, Michigan, and Ohio State in coming years.