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If no College Football Playoff, where could Texas go bowling?

by: RT Young19 hours ago
NCAA Football: Texas at Florida
Oct 4, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian walks off the field after a game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

If Texas doesn’t head to the College Football Playoff at year’s end (a sentence very few thought would be uttered before the season) then what are the Longhorns’ potential bowl destinations?

For the record, I still believe.

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Even at 5–2, with multiple wins that have felt like losses, I think Steve Sarkisian and company can turn it around. I don’t mean bowl eligibility with a sixth win, I mean playoffs (I don’t say that in a dismissive Jim Mora voice). 

Anyways, we’re really writing this because we keep seeing a lot of “Alamo Bowl, here we come” posts on the board. Welp, Texas is actually in the SEC now. Surprise! Therefore, Arch Manning and company are not eligible to play in San Antonio’s Alamodome in December.

The SEC is awarded a completely different set of bowl designations, many of which will be new to Texas fans. There will be no Alamo and no Pop-Tarts. Remember, the SEC assigns teams to bowl games. See the following disclaimer from the SEC’s 2024 press release detailing last year’s bowl announcements:

The SEC Bowl Pool participants are determined after conversations with bowl partners and discussions with school personnel in order to create a lineup of compelling bowl games. This process, as approved by the institutions of the SEC, provides an opportunity to create intriguing matchups and varying assignments to help prevent repetitive postseason destinations when possible.

It’s not as cut-and-dry as “the first-place non-playoff team goes here and so on.” The fact that the conference assigns bowls with input from the schools is most likely why we never got a watered-down Texas versus Texas A&M matchup in the Texas Bowl prior to the Longhorns joining the SEC.

Possible Bowl Destinations for Texas

  • Birmingham Bowl: Dec. 23, Birmingham, Alabama: vs. ACC or American
  • Texas Bowl: Dec. 25, Houston, Texas: vs. Big 12
  • Gator Bowl: Dec. 27, Jacksonville, Florida: vs. ACC
  • Music City Bowl: Dec. 30, Nashville, Tennessee: vs. Big Ten
  • Citrus Cheez-It Bowl: Dec. 31, Orlando, Florida: vs. Big Ten
  • ReliaQuest Bowl: Dec. 31, Tampa, Florida: vs. Big Ten
  • Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Jan. 2, Charlotte, North Carolina: vs. ACC
  • Liberty Bowl: Jan. 2, Memphis, Tennessee: vs. Big 12

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Personally, for Texas to have started the season ranked No. 1 and miss the playoffs, only for it to end with Steve Sarkisian covered in Duke’s Mayonnaise would feel nightmarish. I am hoping for the Playoffs yet, while keeping some Cheez-Its stashed in the pantry.

On3’s Brett McMurphy recently projected that the Longhorns would travel to Orlando on December 31 to play Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.

What’s your preference, Texas fans?

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