What is one thing every postseason team had, including Texas, last season? Three or fewer losses heading into the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
This season, the Longhorns already have one, which means, if history repeats, they can afford just two more. With No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 16 Vanderbilt and No. 12 Georgia all still on the schedule, there is very little room for error.
Out of last year’s playoff teams, one went undefeated, three teams had one loss, seven teams had two and Clemson, which was 10-3, snuck into the postseason, beating SMU in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship as an auto bid.
The first team left out was Alabama, which went 9-3 and lost to an unranked Vanderbilt in the middle of the season. If Texas falls to the unranked Florida Gators, the Longhorns could suffer the same fate.
That’s the problem when the game is played by so many — when postseason spots are so few, and you only get 12-13 drives a game. One slip-up can derail everything.
Florida is injured — it lacks depth on the defensive line, and sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway has not looked like his pre-injury self. The offensive line has had issues too. Florida is a must-win game for head coach Steve Sarkisian and his Longhorns.
Now eight spots back from its original starting place, if Texas suffers a loss too early, it could be too late to catch up. But that’s the beauty of college football, isn’t it? And Sarkisian is well aware of it.
He’s constantly telling his unit that the mentality should be to take each game one at a time, one week at a time.
This is going to be a tough game coming up. “The Swamp” is notorious for being one of the most difficult atmospheres in the college football hemisphere.
There is the obvious pressure from the fans as well. The season is on the line this upcoming Saturday, and Texas can’t afford to drop its place.
The path to Miami for the national championship game is a crowded one, with Ohio State, Oregon and Miami firmly securing their spot up front. If Texas trips, the sprint to the CFP may be over before the finish line ever comes into sight.
For Texas, this is about survival — to live for another week.
