Texas football has zero interest in getting caught up in playing weak non-conference games.

It’s becoming normal in college football for powerhouse programs to try to schedule weak non-conference games in order to not risk a potential playoff spot.

While the logic is understandable, it is also incredibly stupid. It’s insulting to fans. For example, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule went out and publicly declared he doesn’t know why any Big Ten team would play a major non-conference game.

The answer is simple. The fans and it sounds like Texas fans are in good hands.

Texas AD refuses to schedule weak schedules.

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte has drawn a line in the sand:

The Longhorns will play major non-conference games, and that’s not going to change. 

Del Conte said the following during a townhall meeting last week, according to On3:

“Our brand – and I firmly believe this – our brand should play the greatest brands in college football because we’re the best. We’re going to play Ohio State, we’re going to play Michigan, we just signed a home-and-home with Notre Dame. Those games matter. With a 12-game Playoff, those games matter. They matter to me. They should matter to you. You want to play the very best. I’m not issuing a cupcake schedule. Our coaches and our student-athletes aren’t. They want to play the very best. But we owe it to college football, we owe it to this organization, to play the very best. That’s what we’re going to continue to do. We just announced Notre Dame a couple weeks ago, and keep your eyes peeled. We’ll have another one. I just don’t want to get too far out.”

Texas AD Chris Del Conte let fans know the team will still schedule major non-conference games. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

This is the right move by Texas, and the program deserves to be applauded. I still can’t believe Matt Rhule went out and publicly said Big Ten teams playing those games doesn’t make sense.

Cowardly. Absolutely cowardly.

Believe it or not, the fans do matter, and major non-conference games are something that gets fanbases fired up.

I was at the Wisconsin/Alabama game in Madison this past year, and it was electric. Madison was on fire for two straight days. It doesn’t even matter that the Badgers lost. It was an epic time.

Huge props to Del Conte for delivering what fans are craving instead of being weak about it. That’s the energy we need to see in sports and in this country, in general. Let me know what you think at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.