Texas coach Steve Sarkisian made an impassioned speech after the Longhorns beat No. 7 Texas A&M 27-17 on Friday.
The Longhorns (9-3) are on the outside looking in of the College Football Playoff heading into conference championship weekend.
"I think this — 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 — and you look at the non-conference schedule we played to go to Ohio State in Week 1 and lose by seven and we out-gained them by nearly 200 yards," Sarkisian said. "We've got a really good football team, and it would be a disservice to our sport if this team is not a playoff team when we went and scheduled that non-conference game. If we’re a 10-2 team it's not a question."
Texas (9-3) is this year’s three-loss team from the SEC that faces long odds to get into the College Football Playoff. Should their case be heard by the College Football Playoff committee? Is there a chaotic path to get them back in the conversation?
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Can Texas still make College Football Playoff?
The Longhorns are ranked No. 13 in the next-to-last College Football Playoff rankings. There are a few results that could make the Longhorns’ playoff case more interesting. The Longhorns would need to move up to No. 10 to get an at-large berth.
| RANK | TEAM |
| 1 | Ohio State (12-0) |
| 2 | Indiana (12-0) |
| 3 | Georgia (11-1) |
| 4 | Texas Tech (11-1) |
| 5 | Oregon (11-1) |
| 6 | Ole Miss (11-1) |
| 7 | Texas A&M (11-1) |
| 8 | Oklahoma (10-2) |
| 9 | Alabama (10-2) |
| 10 | Notre Dame (10-2) |
| 11 | BYU (11-1) |
| 12 | Miami, Fla. (10-2) |
Texas Tech beats BYU in the Big 12 championship game
The Red Raiders could clear out the Cougars – who are ranked No. 11. A two-loss BYU team would fall behind the Longhorns.
Duke beats Virginia in the ACC championship game
This would knock out Virginia for an automatic berth. The Cavaliers are ranked No. 16. It only helps Texas to a certain point, however. The committee is going to take the five highest-ranked conference champions, and a Virginia loss would open the door for No. 25 James Madison.
James Madison beats Troy in the Sun Belt championship game
The Dukes would be the fifth-highest ranked conference champion if the Dukes beat Troy in the Sun Belt championship game.
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Georgia beats Alabama in the SEC championship game
The Longhorns need the Bulldogs to beat Alabama by a large margin, too. Georgia beat Texas 35-10 on Nov. 10. Still, perhaps the committee would consider three-loss Texas over three-loss Alabama.
Ohio State beats Indiana in the Big Ten championship game
The Longhorns are not going to leap-frog a Big Ten team, but that would make the 14-7 loss to Ohio State on Aug. 30 look even better knowing the Buckeyes are the only 13-0 team in the field.
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Texas three-loss College Football Playoff debates
If the above scenario unfolds, then Texas would still not be in the College Football Playoff, but they could raise some interesting arguments with the teams that would be in.
Texas (9-3) vs. Alabama (10-3)
Could Texas make a case here if the Crimson Tide suffer a blowout loss? The teams shared three common opponents in SEC play – Georgia, No. 14 Vanderbilt and No. 8 Oklahoma. Both teams went 2-1. The Crimson Tide lost to Oklahoma; a team the Longhorns beat 23-6. Alabama beat Georgia 24-21 in the regular season.
Texas (9-3) vs. Notre Dame (10-2)
The Irish lost 41-40 to Texas A&M on Sept. 13, but Notre Dame is ranked three spots ahead of the Longhorns now, and neither team plays this week. It would have to be an over-the-top justification to move Texas from this spot.
Texas (9-3) vs. Miami (10-2)
It’s the same case here. Would the Longhorns have a case against Miami – which suffered losses to Louisville and SMU and did not play for the ACC championship?
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Texas strength of schedule
According to ESPN, the Longhorns rank No. 13 in the Football Power Index. Notre Dame is No. 4, Alabama is No. 6 and Miami is No. 7. This is not a metric that favors Texas at all.
Texas strength of record
According to ESPN, the Longhorns rank No. 12 in strength of record. That is one spot ahead of Notre Dame at No. 13 and two spots ahead of Miami at No. 14.
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Will Texas make College Football Playoff?
Sarkisian has a point, and it needs to be heard for the future of the College Football Playoff. Why step out and schedule non-conference games against teams like Ohio State if the committee simply judges wins and losses?
The Longhorns have three strong wins against Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, but they also have a 29-21 loss at four-loss Florida. That has to matter too, and ultimately that will turn out to be the game the Longhorns simply could not lose this season. That likely will prevent Texas – the preseason No. 1 in the AP Poll – from reaching the College Football Playoff for the third consecutive season.