Kirk Herbstreit cites head-to-head win for Texas being ranked higher than Vanderbilt

The second-to-last College Football Playoff Rankings were released Tuesday night. Texas jumped three spots from No. 16 to No. 13 following its 27-17 win over then-No. 3 ranked Texas A&M last Saturday, leaping No. 14 Vanderbilt in the process.

During a SportsCenter appearance on Thursday, Vanderbilt‘s Heisman Trophy contending quarterback Diego Pavia was asked for his thoughts on the Commodores being ranked No. 14 (behind Texas) in the latest CFP Rankings. It’s safe to say Pavia was not a fan of the committee’s decision.

“I think it’s a lot of politics at the top with what’s going on,” Pavia said. “I think if you look at our strength of schedule at the beginning of the year, the people we beat, when we beat them, on the road. There’s no other 10-2 SEC team left out. That’s the other thing. And then, they have Texas ahead of us too. I don’t know what’s going on or what they’re thinking up there, but I feel like we deserve to be in the College Football Playoff.”

Although Texas did beat Vanderbilt 34-31 earlier this season in Austin, it suffered three losses to Vandy’s two. One of these losses came to 4-8 Florida on Oct. 4, which was the main catalyst for keeping the Longhorns out of the Playoff. No. 11 BYU and No. 12 Miami are also both ranked ahead of Vanderbilt, as they both secured a victory against a team present in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings.

Kirk Herbstreit uses head-to-head matchup for Texas’ claim to be ranked over Vanderbilt

ESPN‘s Kirk Herbstreit questioned why anyone would be upset at Texas being ranked over Vanderbilt on the latest episode of ‘Nonstop‘, once again bringing up the Longhorns’ head-to-head victory over the ‘Dores on Nov. 1.

“How on earth does Texas jump Vandy? They beat ’em, right?” Herbstreit asked. “Didn’t they beat them head-to-head? The comeback was a little bit misleading. (Texas) ended up jumping three spots (following its win over Texas A&M). Listen, Vandy‘s story is amazing. Living here in Nashville and seeing Clark Lea.”

“I know that Diego Pavia gets a lot of the attention (and he should), but Clark Lea has re-upped. It’s his alma mater. I’ve got a feeling Vandy‘s not going away. He’s a great coach and has a great staff. I love Vandy and I love their year, but Texas just beat the No. 3 team in the country. And they beat Vandy head-to-head. Why are we getting upset over that?”

At the end of the day, the argument is pretty much irrelevant. Both Texas and Vanderbilt will miss the College Football Playoff, as there is nothing left that they can do to sneak into the 12-team field.