The Texas Longhorns bumped up to No. 13 in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings that were released on Tuesday night. But this ranking puts the Longhorns on the outside looking in on being a part of the 12-team playoff itself.
Tuesday’s rankings came out on the heels of a full-court media blitz by Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, who pleaded his case on both television and radio on Monday and Tuesday.
What Hurt Texas’ CFP Chances The Most?
Based on Tuesday night’s comments from College Football Playoff Selection Committee Chairman Hunter Yurachek, who is also the athletic director at Arkansas, the committee reviewed Texas’ loss to Florida as the primary reason for the ranking. Texas went out on its social media and posted on X, where it’s currently ranked after the rankings came out.
👀📈🤘 pic.twitter.com/Yv0RDpA0pC
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 3, 2025
According to the PFSN CFB Offense Impact metrics, Texas, with a 9-3 season record, has an impact score of 83.1, led by quarterback Arch Manning, and grades out to a B-.
Houston Chronicle columnist Kirk Bohls, who has covered the Longhorns for years, dating back to his days with the Austin American-Statesman in Austin, Texas, asked Yurachek if that loss was hurting Texas the most or if there was another mitigating factor.
“You’re spot on,” Yurachek said. “The committee has a great deal of respect for Texas, and they’ve played an incredible schedule. They’ve got four teams they played in our top 10. They beat OU on a neutral field. They just beat Texas A&M at home this past weekend. They lost to No. 1, Ohio State, and lost to No. 3, Georgia.
“But one key stat this week in the teams ranked in our top 15, there’s 17 total losses for those teams,” Yurachek said on Tuesday night’s media teleconference. “Sixteen of those
losses came against teams that are currently ranked or have been ranked in our top 25 this year.
“The only loss to an unranked team was Texas’s loss to Florida at Florida, and really Florida dominated that game, held Texas to 50 yards rushing, two interceptions,” Yurachek said. “So it’s not that Texas played Ohio State; it is Texas’ loss to Florida that’s holding them back now.”
Florida beat Texas 29-21 at “The Swamp” in Gainesville, Fla., back in October. Texas’s last victory was a 27-17 win over Texas A&M at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.
With these latest College Football Playoff Rankings and where Texas is placed, the Longhorns might reconsider playing high-ranked teams before conference play begins next season.