Not everyone was convinced by Steve Sarkisian’s argument for Texas to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
No. 16 Texas stayed in the postseason hunt Friday when it dealt No. 3 Texas A&M its only loss of the regular season in a 27-17 contest at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. The result gave the Longhorns a marquee win against one of the best teams in college football, strengthening their case to get one of the final CFP spots.
Sarkisian made the case during his postgame interview. The Texas head coach implored the CFP selection committee not to use his team’s season-opening loss against powerhouse Ohio State against them.
“If you really look at the body of work, and you look at the Southeastern Conference and what we have to go through every week. You look at the non-conference schedule we played to go to Ohio State in Week 1 and lost by 7, when we out-gained them by nearly 200 yards. We’ve got a really good football team, and it would be a disservice to our sport if this team’s not a playoff team, when we went and scheduled that non-conference game,” Sarkisian said.
“If we’re a 10-2 team, it’s not a question. But we were willing to go play that game. So, is that what college football is about, don’t play anybody and just have a good record? Or play the best and put the best teams in the playoffs — and we’re one of the best teams.”
The case Sarkisian made was a compelling one about playing Ohio State, which heads into its regular-season finale Saturday against Michigan as the No. 1 team in the country with a perfect 11-0 record. Agreeing to face the Buckeyes on the road to start the season was a bold move for Texas, but one that deserves consideration in their case to make the playoffs.
However, several fans pointed to Texas’ head-scratching loss to Florida as a counterargument.
But you lost to Florida.
— Jet7111 (@jet7111) November 29, 2025
Did he forget they lost to a 3 win Florida team 🤡
— mitchfaccinto (@mitchfaccinto) November 29, 2025
Or you don’t lose to Florida? That would help
— P2ALM23 (@P2ALM23) November 29, 2025
The Gators have just three wins heading into the final game of the season — but one of them happened to be against the Longhorns. Some clearly feel the loss was the death knell for Texas’ playoff hopes.
While Texas would have never had a shot at playoff football in years past, the expanded playoff format gives the 9-3 Longhorns a fighting chance to make it. With Arch Manning playing inspired football of late, Texas may be one of the scarier teams if it manages to sneak in as one of the lower seeds.
