Joel Klatt claims Texas is 'pretty cooked' for College Football Playoff

Texas is hanging around the cut-line for the College Football Playoff in the committee’s latest rankings. However, Joel Klatt doesn’t see a path forward for the Longhorns at all. 

On the latest episode of The Joel Klatt Show, the FOX analyst bluntly assessed the Longhorns’ chances of making the Top 12 after climbing to No. 13 on Tuesday. He doesn’t believe it’s possible, calling their postseason hopes effectively dead.

“Texas, they look pretty cooked at 13 right now,” Klatt said. “I don’t see how they jump Miami. Maybe they could jump BYU with a BYU loss, maybe. And maybe if Bama gets absolutely drilled by Georgia, maybe Bama falls way out, but there’s no more data points for them.”

That, Klatt emphasized, is the real problem. With Texas sitting idle in Week 14 and no remaining chances to add to their résumé, every team ahead of them would need to stumble, and stumble significantly, for the Longhorns to climb into playoff range. 

“There’s too many teams in front of them that I don’t really think are going to move,” he said. “How do you jump all of those teams? I’m having a really hard time finding how you jump through all of these.”

‘It just doesn’t feel like Texas is gonna have enough to jump all the way in there’

Klatt also pointed to the contradictions in Texas’ résumé. They’ve got marquee wins over Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, the type of victories Playoff contenders need. On the other hand though, the Longhorns also have three losses, plus two shaky overtime escapes against Mississippi State and Kentucky. “We can’t unsee those,” Klatt noted.

Moreover, Klatt added that scheduling Ohio State, even in a loss, ultimately helped cement Texas as a more complete team, but also left them with a résumé the committee appears unwilling to elevate over two-loss programs ahead of them. 

“If you were 10-2, you’d likely be in,” he said. “But it just doesn’t feel like Texas is gonna have enough to jump all the way in there, unless something absolutely crazy happens.”

In Klatt’s view, even the “crazy” might not be enough: “BYU gets drilled, Alabama gets drilled, and even in that case, what are we doing?” he explained. “I think Texas is probably going to be out.”

At 9–3 with no remaining games, the Longhorns appear destined to watch the Playoff unfold without them. It’s a harsh turnaround, especially after entering the season with championship aspirations.