Texas jumps only one spot to No. 16 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, significantly diminishing its chances. Coach Steve Sarkisian emphasizes controlling what they can in the must-win, season-ending rivalry game against the undefeated Aggies.
Texas jumps only one spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings after its 52-37 win over Arkansas.
The Longhorns were helped up to No. 16 thanks to losses by Georgia Tech and USC last Saturday. Michigan, previously one spot behind Texas at 18, jumped the Longhorns after its win over Maryland. The Wolverines' leapfrogging the Longhorns has added another roadblock to their slim playoff hopes.
Texas' final game is against Texas A&M, who slot in at No. 3 for the fourth straight week.
Even with a marquee win against the Aggies, the Longhorns need a lot of results to go their way to have any shot of making the 12-team field. A miracle scenario where Texas finds itself playing in the CFP likely has to include losses from Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Michigan and BYU.
It's why ESPN's College Football Playoff Predictor currently gives the Longhorns a 4% chance to make the field. That number only jumps to 8% with a win against A&M.
This is discouraging news for a team that's made the last two editions of the CFP, including in 2023 when only four teams made the field. However, that cannot serve as a distraction, as there's still so much on the line against one of Texas' biggest rivals.
"We're playing an undefeated team in the Southeastern Conference, which is really hard to do. They're a long-standing rival of ours. That's where our focus and energy are, and that's what we can control," Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said on Monday.
"The moment you start putting energy into things that are out of our control, then you miss what's right in front of you. And this is, this is too big of a game, too special of an opportunity."
All the Longhorns can do on Friday is beat the Aggies and hope the rest of the chips fall in their favor.
College Football Playoff Top 25 Rankings
1. Ohio State (11-0)
2. Indiana (11-0)
3. Texas A&M (11-0)
4. Georgia (10-1)
5. Texas Tech (10-1)
6. Oregon (10-1)
7. Ole Miss (10-1)
8. Oklahoma (9-2)
9. Notre Dame (9-2)
10. Alabama (9-2)
11. BYU (10-1)
12. Miami (9-2)
13. Utah (9-2)
14. Vanderbilt (9-2)
15. Michigan (9-2)
16. Texas (8-3)
17. USC (8-3)
18. Virginia (9-3)
19. Tennessee (8-3)
20. Arizona State (8-3)
21. SMU (8-3)
22. Pitt (8-3)
23. Georgia Tech (9-2)
24. Tulane (9-2)
25. Arizona (8-3)