Left out of the CFP, No. 13 Texas gets Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, with a shot at 10 wins and a second straight statement over the Wolverines.
The College Football Playoff dream is dead, but the season is far from over for Texas.
After landing at No. 13 and the third team out of the 12-team CFP field, the Texas Longhorns now pivot to a very real chance to finish with 10 wins and another marquee scalp.
They'll face No. 18 Michigan in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on New Year's Eve in Orlando, a matchup that comes with plenty of juice despite the playoff snub.
If recent history is any indication, Texas fans won't hate this draw. The Longhorns traveled to Ann Arbor last season and hammered Michigan 31-12, taking control early and never letting go.
The all-time series is 2-0 in favor of Texas, including the legendary 2005 Rose Bowl - the first-ever meeting between the two blue-blood programs.
Oddsmakers seem to like a repeat performance.
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Texas opened as a 4.5-point favorite over the Wolverines, a nod to a resume that's stronger than the identical 9-3 records might suggest.
Texas owns three wins over teams ranked in the final CFP Top 15, while Michigan's best win is a 24-7 victory over Washington. The gap widens when you dig into ranked opposition. Michigan went 0-3 this season against teams in the final CFP rankings with losses to Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC.
Where it really gets interesting is with the common opponents. Both teams faced Ohio State and Oklahoma. Texas lost a defensive slugfest to the Buckeyes, 14-7, but dominated Oklahoma 23-6. Michigan fell 24-13 to the Sooners in Week 2 and later got handled 27-9 by Ohio State.
That’s a pretty clear edge for the Longhorns Still, Steve Sarkisian is treating this like anything but a consolation prize.
"You think about the long-standing history and tradition of the Citrus Bowl with a really quality opponent in Michigan… this was going to be a great opportunity for us," Sarkisian said after the matchup was announced.
He praised a Wolverines team that won five of its last six, highlighting their "fantastic young quarterback," "really good young runner," and well-schemed units on both sides of the ball.
For Texas, this game is about more than salvaging a season.
It's about sending a message ... to the committee, to recruits, and to the rest of the country ... that the Longhorns aren't going anywhere just because the bracket left them out.