Texas playoff scenarios: Can the Longhorns make the playoffs?

Big 12 Championship Preview Football
The Texas Longhorns can make the CFP now.

The Texas Longhorns entered the Big 12 Conference Championship as the seventh-ranked program in the College Football Playoff and the AP Top 25. The Longhorns finished the season with a 12-1 record and won the Big 12 Conference Championship Game against the 18th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys 49-21.

With wins over the Alabama Crimson Tide, Kansas Jayhawks, Kansas State Wildcats and now the Oklahoma State Cowboys, they have a chance to be part of the final rankings for the College Football Playoff at noon Eastern.

Is Texas Longhorns in the Playoffs?

The final four teams for the College Football Playoffs will be announced on Sunday Dec.3, 2023. The Texas Longhorns are currently in the race for the Playoffs and Alabama beating Georgia has helped their case, a great deal. The Longhorns have a chance to get in the playoffs as the Big 12 champions with only a single loss.


Should the Texas Longhorns make the College Football Playoff?

The College Football Playoff committee has a lot to consider with their final rankings. The Georgia Bulldogs and Oregon Ducks both lost their respective conference championship games on Saturday. That should drop them out of the race entirely, but the discussion surrounding Georgia is going to be interesting.

Right now, it seems the Michigan Wolverines and Washington Huskies have the best chance of making it to the College Football Playoff. Florida State Seminoles are also a strong contender, as they won the ACC Championship and remained undefeated throughout the season. In the CFP history, there has not been an undefeated Power Five champion who did not make the semifinals, so history tells us they are in. That would leave one spot remaining for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas Longhorns.

In order to dive deeper, let's take a look at the bylaws the CFP committee goes by to rank teams that are close to one another.

"The CFP Committee will consider four criteria when teams are deemed comparable: championships won, strength of schedule, head-to-head competition and comparative outcomes of common opponents." H/t CBS Sports

It would be interesting to place Ohio State in the College Football Playoff as both Texas and Alabama won their respective conference championships, while Ohio State did not compete in the Big Ten Conference Championship Game. So that would leave one spot for two teams, right?

Well, it is important to note these teams played head-to-head early in the season, and the Texas Longhorns won 34-24 on the road. There has been a reason the Longhorns have remained in a higher CFP ranking than the Crimson Tide. While it would be weird to see zero SEC teams in the College Football Playoff, Texas is the more deserving program with a head-to-head victory.

We will all have to wait by the television screen and be glued to ESPN in order to see what team makes that fourth spot. Entering Saturday, the Longhorns had a 47% chance to make the CFP and have a higher strength of schedule.

Texas Longhorns Fan? Check out the latest Texas Longhorns depth chart, schedule, and roster updates all in one place.

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Edited by Shamik Banerjee
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