Chaos seems to be brewing with the looming release of the final College Football Playoff rankings in the 2023 college football. At the moment, the Georgia Bulldogs, Ohio State, Michigan Wolverines, and Washington Huskies are the top four, while teams like the Florida State Seminoles, Oregon Ducks, Texas football, and Alabama football are all on the outside looking in.

The Texas football vs. Alabama CFP debate continues

Texas football, Michigan football, Wolverines, Longhorns, Steve Sarkisian, Steve Sarkisian with Texas football stadium in the background

For ESPN analyst Greg McElroy, the idea that some people have about Alabama being a better team and should be ranked higher in the CFP rankings could do more harm than good based on current circumstances.

“Texas beat Alabama. The results have to matter. We have to respect the results. If the committee were to create a precedent by putting Bama in over Texas, that would be doing the college football world a disservice,” McElroy said (h/t Mike Rodak of Bama247). “It would. You have to acknowledge the regular season and by putting Bama ahead of Texas, you’d be saying the regular season does not matter, and that’s not a precedent you want to set.”

Texas football's current edge over the Crimson Tide is largely rooted in the fact that the Longhorns defeated Alabama in Tuscaloosa last September, 34-24. Since then, however, Alabama has not dropped a game, earning huge wins against the likes of the Ole Miss Rebels, Tennessee Volunteers, and LSU Tigers along the way. As for Texas, it picked up a loss to the Oklahoma Sooners at home early last October, but that remains the Longhorns' only defeat this season.