Joel Klatt questioned whether the College Football Playoff selection committee is preparing to embrace a three-loss team in the 2025 season.
The FOX Sports analyst talked about the challenge during his recent podcast after Tuesday’s initial CFP rankings. Texas is a test case for the selectors.
"Texas as a 9-3, as the committee is telling us, is absolutely alive for the Playoff,” Klatt said. “That tells us something about how they’re viewing strength of schedule and non-conference play.”
Texas debuted at No. 11 in the first rankings, behind Notre Dame and Oregon, but Klatt suggested that the new 12-team format could open the door for a three-loss team with an elite head-to-head action. His comments stirred up the conversation about how the committee may reward programs that schedule aggressively outside their respective conferences.
Klatt outlined what he described as the selection committee's “behind closed doors” logic, saying that high-caliber opponents carry more weight than win totals. “Texas going to Ohio State and losing at (Columbus) would get them five points,” he said. “If Texas stayed home and played Louisiana Monroe, even if they won, they’d get zero points.”
He added that “A 9-3 Texas team is not only in the mix, but maybe likely in,” Klatt said.
The Longhorns are in the midst of a bye week before traveling to face No. 5 Georgia on Nov. 15. A matchup that could determine whether a three-loss contender can indeed crash the Playoff or not.
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