Greg McElroy, Booger McFarland, Joey Galloway forecast Texas College Football Playoff chances after first rankings

Texas entered Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff rankings show as one of the more interesting teams out there. Steve Sarkisian‘s bunch has put together some nice wins for themseleves, taking down Oklahoma and Vanderbilt. But the Florida loss does stick out like a sore thumb, dropping one while not looking great either.

Either way, the committee placed the Longhorns at No. 11, one spot out of the 12-team field. ESPN’s Booger McFarland did not have an issue with where Texas wound up. He even seens a path for them to get into the CFP.

“As bad as Texas has looked at times this season, they’re right in position,” McFarland said. “They have a lot of runway left in front of them. If they can continue to ascend with their play, Texas could wind up getting into this Playoff.”

Now, while the record might read 7-2, not all seven of those wins have been pretty. Two in SEC play stand out more than others for ESPN’s Greg McElroy — Kentucky and Mississippi State. Both of those games went into overtime, with the one in Starkville requiring a major fourth quarter comeback.

McElroy used the term “just win, baby” when describing Texas. Style points are usually nice but he does not think the committee took too much of the eye test into consideration.

“It’s not really about style points either,” McElroy said. “Texas is getting back by very narrow margins. Mississippi State, Kentucky. Just win, baby — at least, that’s what it appears by the committee.”

Texas gets to take some time off this week due to a bye. From there, the schedule really begins to ramp up.

A trip to Athens is first up, going to face the No. 5-ranked Georgia Bulldogs on the road. This was a matchup we saw twice last season, won by UGA on both occasions. Once in the reverse fixture in Austin and then again in the SEC Championship.

“In two weeks, Texas goes to Georgia,” ESPN’s Joey Galloway said. “That’s when we’ll find out what Texas is really made of.”

Whether or not Texas survives, opportunity is still there for the Longhorns. Two rivalry games take place in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial stadium, beginning with Arkansas. Then, one everybody in the Lone Star State has circled, Texas A&M.

Tuesday night provided the correct spot for Texas, at least in McFarland’s mind. But really, the next month decides whether or not a third straight CFP appearance takes place.