Kirk Herbstreit, Joey Galloway throw cold water on Texas' College Football Playoff chances if they finish 9-3

After the third College Football Playoff rankings reveal the stakes are becoming even more clear. And some teams are already up against the wall. Perhaps too much so to course correct at this point. Case in point: Texas.

Texas fell to No. 17 in the rankings after losing to Georgia over the weekend. It’s a stark enough drop that ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit had a strong take on it.

“You know chaos is coming. We know that,” Herbstreit said on a live broadcast on Twitter with fellow ESPN personality Joey Galloway. “What are Texas’ chances if they win out? They dropped like an anchor after last week. They dropped seven. They’re down to 17. I think they’re on the outside.”

Galloway concurred with that assessment. Much to the chagrin of Texas fans everywhere.

“I do think the committee is saying they’re on the outside,” Galloway said. “I think that’s why they dropped so far. The committee is saying they’re going to be on the outside. I don’t see a way for them to get back in it.”

Herbstreit seemed to ponder that, wondering if there’s a way up for Texas at this point. The Longhorns do take on the Aggies in the regular-season finale, but there’s a debate about how much that one will mean for each side.

“And let me throw this one at you,” Herbstreit said. “If they, if Texas, which is capable, we know, if they at home beat A&M and A&M is sitting out there at 11-0, where does A&M go? How far would they drop? Two or three, four spots? If they were to upset A&M, which they’re more than capable of doing that, I wonder how that would impact 11-0 A&M in the CFP rankings. I mean they’ve been pretty dominant most of the year, and they’d be 11-0.”

Galloway once again provided an answer. He doesn’t think it’s enough movement for even the head-to-head to be relevant between Texas and Texas A&M.

“I think they’re staying in this top seven,” Galloway said of the Aggies. “I don’t think they’re going far. It’s not one of those teams you say, ‘Well who’d they play?’ They’ve played some people. They’re not going anywhere.”

Which leaves Texas battling for positioning among the other handful of teams ahead of it currently. There are only so many games left, so many opportunities to see other teams slip.

“I don’t think Texas would move high enough even with a win over No. 3,” Herbstreit said. “I just don’t know who they would go by from their own conference. I think that’s tough.”