Steve Sarkisian takes to TV to discuss Texas' College Football Playoff case

This morning, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian appeared on SEC This Morning on the SEC Network, discussing topics ranging from the win over Texas A&M to Lane Kiffin‘s move to LSU.

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What Sarkisian and hosts Peter Burns and Chris Doering were most invested in was Texas’ case to make the 2025 College Football Playoff.

The Longhorns enter championship weekend expected to be on the outside looking in. Texas is 9-3 with losses to Florida, Georgia and Ohio State, but wins against Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Texas was ranked 14th in this week’s AP Poll and 16th in last week’s CFP Rankings.

Sarkisian makes the case that, even with a loss to Florida and a loss column that is higher than every other competing playoff program, Texas has every right to be a part of the pursuit for a national championship.

“We played five top-ten ranked teams this season. Beyond that, we go 6-1 in the second half of our season after starting off 3-2. Of those 7 games, 4 of those teams were ranked in the top-10. We went 3-1 in those games,” Sarkisian said.

Sark’s take on the end of the season is fair for Texas. The committee does say it values the ability of the team, and it’s clear that how you perform as the season goes on has given teams merit in rankings over the past two years. Since the Florida loss, Texas has beaten three teams in the playoff hunt, with its only loss coming at Georgia against a team that is currently third in CFP title odds.

Sarkisian continually made the point that the committee must look past what is in the loss column, noting that Texas played five teams ranked in the top ten (all of which are still in contention). In some ways, a team is expected to lose three games given that schedule.

Sarkisian used his performance against Ohio State to illustrate that idea, noting that, in a game where many people said Texas played poorly, the Longhorns still:

Outgained OSU by 150 yards
Were stopped twice inside the 10
Had the ball at the end of the game

While also mentioning that no one else has played Ohio State within three scores. The next closest are Illinois, Washington and Michigan, all of whom lost by 18 points at home. Texas was the only team to compete with the Buckeyes in 2025.

Sarkisian continued his thoughts on the idea that record is not the be-all and end-all, especially given the context of his team’s schedule.

“Is this about what your record is at the end, or is this about beating quality teams and showing how good of a team you really are by beating quality teams on the field,” Sarkisian said. “Or, is it, don’t play good teams, put up a bunch of yards, put up a bunch of points, and make it look good. Throw fade route touchdowns with 38 seconds to go when you’re ahead 31-7 so that the score looks better. So is the committee really watching the games, or are they just looking at a stat sheet at the end of the game to say ‘Oh, well they won by this many points, they must’ve played really good.'”

This is in reference to Miami, who last week scored a touchdown with 40 seconds left against Pittsburgh to make it a 38-7 game, helping their common opponent win look stronger compared to Notre Dame, who only beat the Panthers by 22.

Sark was then asked if they would make changes to their out-of-conference scheduling identity were the Longhorns to be left out of the playoff, to which Sarkisian responded.

“I think we have to. At the end of the day, now we’re going to nine conference games.”

“We’ve got to be mindful of the fact that we’ve played five top-ten ranked teams. The next closest team that’s ranked ahead of us has played two. There’s multiple teams in front of us that have played none.”

“At that point, if we’re just staring at a record, we’ve got to put ourselves in a better position to get a better record.”

The head coach ended the CFP part of the segment with one last take on the entire process, and what it means to actually choose the 12-best teams in the playoff.

“All I care about is that we’re trying to put the best teams in and not get caught up in the record,” Sarkisian said. “Ultimately, if we just keep staring at the record, then all we’re going to try to do is get a good record. I don’t think that’s what we want in college football. We want teams competing against the best teams. That’s what makes our sport great. That’s why the SEC is such an awesome conference, because of the quality of teams in this league top-to-bottom.”

Sarkisian would add that he wonders what the differences between the committee and the AP Poll are if that is their written goal, but they continue to generally rank teams based on record and the conference they are in.

It’s a lot to think about as we near the second to last iteration of the College Football Playoff rankings, scheduled to drop at 6 P.M. on Tuesday night before the final iteration is presented on Sunday, December 7.