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1st & 10: For whatever it's worth, the CFP Selection Committee's initial rankings got Nos. 6-10 right

Joe Cookby: Joe Cook11/01/23josephcook89
Christian Jones
Christian Jones (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

With five undefeated College Football Playoff contenders remaining as the calendar turns to November, most national intrigue in the first set of rankings released by the CFP Selection Committee focused on the top five.

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These initial rankings are sure to change dramatically over the coming month, especially as No. 1 Ohio State plays No. 3 Michigan, No. 2 Georgia sees its schedule increase in difficulty, No. 4 Florida State stares down rivalry games with Florida and Miami, and No. 5 Washington traverses a competitive Pac-12.

There was not as much intrigue in where the one-loss teams landed. Oregon, playing as good of football as anyone right now, was rightfully ranked as the top one-loss team at No. 6. Then Texas, with one loss to fellow top-10 team No. 9 Oklahoma and with the nation’s best win at No. 8 Alabama, was slotted at No. 7.

One through five may be met with a considerable amount of questions, but the committee got six through 10 right.

The three spots occupied by the Longhorns, the Crimson Tide, and the Sooners were the topic of a question posed to CFP Selection Committee chairman Boo Corrigan last night.

Q: I was wondering about the ranking between Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma. What kind of discussions did you guys have there, and how much did the match-up between Oklahoma and Texas play into that, given that Oklahoma won that game but they were ranked behind Texas?

Corrigan: “A lot of discussion. You go back to we want to get this right as we look at it. A wonderful win by Oklahoma, last-second drive to win this game. When you factor in a two-loss Kansas team this past weekend, getting the win over Oklahoma, Kansas with the two losses to Texas and Oklahoma State, while they continue to improve and play better, body of work, if you will, looking at this, Texas over Alabama, winning there in Tuscaloosa, similar to Texas-Oklahoma but then add in the factor that Oklahoma lost that game to Kansas as well as a close game with UCF. But primarily the loss to Kansas.”

That’s quite the word salad, but a more coherent response would say Texas’ win over Alabama and the recency of the Sooners’ loss to Kansas were more compelling to the committee at this juncture than OU’s last-minute win in the Cotton Bowl. And what are we to do except use the most recent evidence available to us?

Either way, it doesn’t matter what Corrigan’s answer was, though it was correct. If Texas and Oklahoma win out, then they’ll meet each other in the Big 12 Championship game and the winner will have the type of resume worthy of a spot in the CFP.

Explaining these rankings is often a fool’s errand. Putting into words why one team is ranked two spots behind a team it defeated is not easy, no matter your affiliation. But Corrigan tried!

It’s nice to know what the committee thinks of Texas, and the committee thinks highly of them. They may have listened to what Steve Sarkisian said on Monday when he had a chance to do a little politicking.

The Longhorns can bolster their resume with a win this Saturday over Kansas State, the No. 23 team in last night’s rankings. If they can do that, they’ll have more ranked wins than the Ducks and will give the committee something to think about the next time it meets in Grapevine. Of course, should one of the six teams ahead of them slip up, the Horns will be in prime position to jump in next week’s rankings.

But this week’s, at least as it pertains to the Longhorns’ standing, was spot on.

Here are 10 more thoughts

1: Here was my top five on Monday:

  1. Michigan
  2. Ohio State
  3. Georgia
  4. Florida State
  5. Washington

I had mentioned I would have Texas at No. 6, but a little more study of how Oregon smacked around Utah made me reconsider the Ducks. I know Cam Rising was out, but Rising doesn’t play defense. Oregon is legit and a few points away from being a top-three team.

Michigan’s strength of schedule is one of the criticisms the Wolverines have faced this year, along with the Connor Stalions controversy. The committee did not delve into the latter, deflecting and saying they can only go by what they see on the field.

On the field, Michigan hasn’t really played anyone, but its average margin of victory is 35 points. I think that level of dominance is worth the top spot, with Ohio State a worthy No. 2 thanks to their wins over Notre Dame and Penn State.

2: Here’s the breakdown by conference…

  • Big 12: 5
  • SEC: 6
  • Big 10: 3
  • ACC: 2
  • Pac-12: 6
  • Independent: 1
  • American: 1
  • Mountain West: 1

Seven of the 25 teams listed will be changing conferences next season, including five of the six Pac-12 teams.

3: Texas was back in the Moody Center on Monday for an exhibition versus Austin’s own St. Edward’s University, the alma mater of Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry. The first half was filled with difficulty for the Longhorns, who entered halftime trailing the Hilltoppers 39-32. Texas regularly utilized a five-out lineup with Dillon Mitchell and Brock Cunningham as the two “bigs” that left a lot to be desired on both ends of the floor. The Longhorns need Kadin Shedrick and Dylan Disu to maximize this year. I’ll take it as a good sign that UT is making Shedrick available to the media on Wednesday, along with Ithiel Horton and Terry.

4: Max Abmas and Tyrese Hunter could have All-Big 12 caliber seasons if they can produce at the level they did on Monday. My only concern is whether they can handle minute workloads that may approach 40 more often than 30. Chris Johnson‘s status is of the utmost importance for this team, as Chendall Weaver is athletically gifted but has some development ahead of him as a ball-handler.

5: K-State head coach Chris Klieman was available to the Manhattan media on Tuesday, and had this to say about the Longhorns: “You’re not going to be able to make Texas one dimensional. We’ve been able to make a few teams one dimensional. We’re not really going to be able to do that.”

Eric Nahlin will have more from the KSU head coach.

6: An aspect of Sarkisian’s program that he’s emphasized in media settings during the past several weeks is a portion of his early week practices called team run. It features the first-team offense battling the first-team defense, and all 22 on the field know that the playcall will be a run. Who gets the best of the other?

“It’s play by play, definitely,” offensive lineman Christian Jones said. “We are very lucky to have the D-line that we have and the defense that we have to go against them every single day. They bring it.”

The ground game will be important Saturday, and Texas hopes to utilize lessons learned during those early in the week practices in what’s likely the toughest remaining matchup on the regular season schedule.

Texas has won the last six versus K-State, and won the rushing battle five of six times. The only time the Wildcats outgained Texas on the ground was in 2021, and a 71-yard run by Will Howard bolstered KSU’s total.

7: If the game of the week in college football this weekend isn’t the one in Austin, Texas, it’s the one in Athens, Ga.

Georgia has been largely untested this year, and Missouri has one of the more dynamic offenses in the nation. Finally, the Bulldogs face an opponent with a matchup tie or advantage in a certain area. Hello, Luther Burden!

While LSU at Alabama is a compelling helmet game, the Tiger defense won’t be able to do much against the Crimson Tide offense. The Tiger defense hasn’t done much all year. It won’t in primetime in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

8: The Texas baseball Fall World Series is this weekend at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Game one is Thursday at 6 p.m., game two is Friday at 6 p.m., then game three is Sunday at 1 p.m. Longhorn Network will televise game three.

Look for Jared Thomas to be in centerfield as opposed to first base. Duke transfer Luke Storm, who is set to join the program at the semester break, is the likely first baseman next season. The program has yet to announce his addition as Storm is finishing his education at Duke.

Another Horn I’m interested in seeing is Will Gasparino. A 6-foot-6, 215-pound freshman outfielder from Los Angeles, Gasparino was a top-100 prospect according to MLB.com in the most recent draft. His game will need some refinement but his athleticism will play early, maybe even as early as game one.

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9: K-State has made great use of true freshman quarterback Avery Johnson. A product of Wichita (Kan.) Maize, Johnson has split time with Howard this season and the Wildcats have reaped the benefits. In five games, Johnson is 21-for-29 for 268 yards and two scores. Throwing is more of a changeup for him, as he’s tallied 43 rushes for 222 yards and six scores, including a 13-carry, 90-yard performance with five touchdown runs at Texas Tech.

Johnson was ranked as the No. 104 overall prospect, the No. 9 quarterback, and the No. 1 player in Kansas in the 2023 On3 Industry Ranking.

Ryan Sanborn
Ryan Sanborn (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

10: Let’s look at Texas transfers in this season…

  • Jalen Catalon: 15 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 fumble recovery — effective when on the field, but that’s dwindled in recent weeks due to injury
  • Trill Carter: 4 tackles with 0.5 for loss — raises the floor of the position, offers good depth behind the top three
  • Gavin Holmes: 13 tackles — has performed well in recent weeks at cornerback, had a nice play versus BYU, and is effective on special teams
  • Ryan Sanborn: 20 punts averaging 48.4 yards per punt with only two touchbacks. Nine have traveled over 50 yards and 7 have been caught inside the 20

Sanborn has an argument to be the second most impactful transfer from that group.

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