Texas has earned its place in the College Football Playoff despite their 9-3 record. Coach Steve Sarkisian's squad delivered when it mattered most by defeating the previously undefeated No. 3 Texas A&M team 27-17 in Friday's rivalry showdown, cementing an argument that their quality of wins far outweighs the narrative surrounding their three losses.

The Longhorns are not just deserving of a playoff berth—they represent the most compelling case for a three-loss team to ever enter the postseason tournament, and turning them away would set a dangerous precedent about scheduling integrity and competitive excellence.

The Eye-Opening Strength of Schedule and Top-Tier Victories

What sets Texas apart from any other three-loss team in college football history is not just the quality of their opponents, but the sheer number of marquee victories accumulated throughout their regular season. The Longhorns have defeated three top-10 ranked teams in a single season, matching an achievement not seen since the 2019 national champion LSU team—the only three-loss team ever to win a national championship.

Those wins came against No. 6 Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, and most recently, the then-undefeated No. 3 Texas A&M. This is the calling card of a legitimate playoff contender, not a bubble team that should be swiftly dismissed.​

Coach Sarkilian emphasized this exact point when speaking to the media, noting that Texas deserves recognition for competing at the absolute highest level of college football week in and week out. The Longhorns' strength of record sits at 13th nationally, while their strength of schedule ranks an impressive 10th—numbers that directly combat the suggestion that Texas has benefited from a cupcake schedule.

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Instead, Texas made the difficult decision to begin their season at Ohio State on the road, a marquee non-conference matchup that ultimately resulted in a 14-7 loss to the now-undefeated Buckeyes. That early-season loss is the primary culprit behind Texas's exclusion conversation, but it also demonstrates a commitment to meaningful football that should be rewarded, not penalized.​

Their other two losses came to Georgia and Florida, the latter being an admittedly puzzling 52-37 setback to a Gators team that subsequently fired its head coach in October. While that loss to Florida is undoubtedly the blemish that complicates the playoff narrative, it remains just one game against the context of a season-long body of work that includes consecutive wins over power conference opponents and a dramatic upset over a top-three team to close out the regular season.

Why Selection Committee Standards Must Account for Scheduling Excellence

The broader philosophical argument in Texas's favor hinges on a critical question: should the College Football Playoff selection committee actively punish teams for scheduling strength of schedule excellence? If Texas had followed the path of Indiana and Oregon—schools that opened their seasons against significantly weaker non-conference opponents like Kennesaw State and Oklahoma State—they likely would not be in this playoff debate at all. By that metric, the committee would be sending the message that scheduling difficult games early is a liability rather than an asset, which runs counter to everything competitive sports should represent.​

The precedent of allowing a three-loss team into the expanded 12-team playoff will not lead to chaos. It will, instead, reward the kind of bold scheduling decisions that make college football compelling and nationally relevant. Texas made its bet on competitiveness, came up short in that first game, but subsequently proved their mettle by dominating throughout the remainder of their schedule.

A 9-3 record with three wins over ranked opponents and a strength of record hovering around 13th nationally is not the profile of a team that should be excluded purely because of a three-loss threshold that has never been tested in the 12-team era. Texas deserves their playoff spot, and the selection committee should recognize that sometimes the best measure of a team's worth cannot be captured in a single number.