Not only did the Texas Longhorns get a week of rest with their bye, but head coach Steve Sarkisian’s team actually made a move upwards in the College Football Playoff rankings ahead of its meeting with the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs.
The Longhorns rose from No. 11 to No. 10 in the second edition of CFP rankings, announced on Tuesday night, projecting them to be the final at-large participant to make the cut.
If the playoffs started now, Texas would be looking at a Southeastern Conference showdown with the Ole Miss Rebels. But there is a lot of football left to play, with three weeks remaining in the 2025 regular season.
Texas’ pros
Entering Week 12, Texas is one of two college football teams to have two AP top 10 wins at the time played.
Within their recent four-game SEC winning streak, the Longhorns beat then-No. 6 Oklahoma in Dallas and then-No. 9 Vanderbilt in their return to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium after a 42-day home absence.
Sitting at 4-1 in conference play and 7-2 overall, Texas controls its own destiny the rest of the way. And with the recent performances put together, the Longhorns could be in a position to surge back into a position forecasted for them in the preseason.
Texas’ cons
The Florida loss kills, with the Gators now 3-6 and led by an interim head coach after Billy Napier’s firing. Florida has fallen to both Texas A&M and Georgia since its Oct. 4 win over the Longhorns and was blown out by the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington last weekend.
Texas’ season-opening loss to Ohio State has done minimal damage in comparison, as the Buckeyes have been ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll since week two. But its defeats, combined with overtime nailbiters against unranked Kentucky and Mississippi State, have kept them below fellow two-loss team Notre Dame in both the CFP rankings and AP Poll.
Due to its current position, Texas’ final stretch can be defined by the common saying “do-or-die.”
Looking forward
Texas’ outlook in the CFP race relies on this weekend’s result in Athens. A victory over No. 5 Georgia would give the Longhorns their third top-10 win of the season, a statement that advocates they belong in the postseason conversation.
With a loss against the Bulldogs, Texas would most likely fall out of the CFP bracket for the time being and need to win its final two games against Arkansas and a top-five ranked Texas A&M while convincing the committee to include a 9-3 team in the field.
That was a storyline last season related to Alabama, who were left out of the Playoff after being ranked below 11-2 SMU.
Winning out would secure Texas a playoff spot and potentially a place in the SEC Championship game, depending on tiebreakers. The first step towards that outcome is earning a big road win over a Bulldogs team that conquered the Longhorns twice in 2024.
