Texas Climbs to No. 6 in CFP Rankings After Huge Missouri Victory

Texas football is climbing the College Football Playoff rankings, and the Longhorns are making an increasingly convincing argument that they belong among the nation's championship contenders.

Texas moved up one position to No. 6 in Tuesday's latest CFP rankings following a 34-20 road victory over Missouri, giving Steve Sarkisian's team its fourth win against a ranked opponent this season.

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The Longhorns are now 7-2 overall and 4-2 in SEC play, with three consecutive victories restoring their postseason momentum after losses to Oklahoma and Florida threatened to derail their season.

And the selection committee is taking notice.

Georgia claimed the No. 1 ranking following its dominant 42-7 victory over Ole Miss, replacing Miami after the Hurricanes suffered their first loss against Notre Dame.

Unbeaten Utah moved into second, followed by Alabama, UCLA and Notre Dame.

Texas sits immediately behind the Fighting Irish and one position ahead of Miami, which tumbled from first to seventh.

Interestingly, Alabama has the same two-loss record as Texas but ranks three positions higher, setting up an intriguing debate about how the committee evaluates each team's resume.

For the Longhorns, Saturday's performance provided another significant argument.

Quarterback Arch Manning completed 28 of 38 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns against Missouri, earning SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Running back Raleek Brown delivered the go-ahead touchdown reception in the fourth quarter before adding a rushing score to seal the victory.

The Longhorns also produced timely defensive stops that prevented Missouri from responding.

"We're big game hunters," Sarkisian said following the victory. "And we showed up again today."

If the season ended with Tuesday's rankings, Texas would occupy the No. 6 seed in the 12-team playoff bracket and host No. 11 seed Kentucky in a first-round matchup.

That would give the Longhorns a postseason game in Austin, although the bracket remains far from settled.

Five SEC teams currently occupy projected playoff positions, demonstrating the conference's considerable influence on the national championship race.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech finds itself in a frustrating situation.

The Red Raiders climbed to No. 12 in the rankings but sit outside the projected bracket because Boise State receives the automatic berth reserved for the highest-ranked eligible Group of Six team.

Texas now turns its attention to another challenging SEC road test Saturday against LSU in Baton Rouge.

With LSU, Georgia and Texas A&M remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Longhorns have significant opportunities to improve their playoff position.

But the margin for error remains small.

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Texas has worked its way back into the national championship conversation.

Now the Longhorns must finish the job.