On3 national expert projects Longhorns to make huge College Football Playoffs run with Arch Manning
Put this in the way-too-early pile, but On3’s Andy Staples is ready to go on record and pick Texas to win the 2025 national championship. Call it the Arch Manning effect. Staples picked Texas to earn the No. 1 seed in the 2026 College Football Playoffs, which means he’s picking the Longhorns to also win […]
Put this in the way-too-early pile, but On3’s Andy Staples is ready to go on record and pick Texas to win the 2025 national championship.
Call it the Arch Manning effect.
Staples picked Texas to earn the No. 1 seed in the 2026 College Football Playoffs, which means he’s picking the Longhorns to also win the SEC title next season.
Everybody is jumping on the Texas bandwagon. Oddsmakers love the Horns, and sports books are pegging Manning to either win the Heisman Trophy or be one of the finalists.
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Looking at Staples’ 2025 bracket, Longhorns fans won’t be too hip about this — he’s projecting Texas to face Georgia three times next season. The two teams are scheduled to meet in Athens on Nov. 15.
Based on Staples’ seeding of SEC teams, he’s projecting Texas to win the SEC and earn the No. 1 seed and Georgia listed as the second-highest SEC seed at No. 8.
In Staples’ bracket, Texas would earn the first-round bye and await the winner of No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 9 Illinois. He’s got the Bulldogs advancing out of the first round to face the Longhorns.
Texas would beat Georgia in the quarterfinals and then draw No. 5 seed Ohio State in the semifinals. The Buckeyes appear to be in rebuild mode after winning it all in 2024. They’ll have huge losses to the NFL Draft and both coordinators have now left for other places.
On the other side of the bracket, South Carolina (No. 10) and Florida (No. 11) make Staples’ 12-team field. He’s got No. 2 seed Oregon (projected Big Ten champion) facing No. 6 Notre Dame in the semifinals.
Staples also has Clemson winning the ACC and getting the No. 3 seed and BYU landing at No. 4 after winning the Big 12.
Staples has Texas meeting Notre Dame in the CFP championship game, with the Irish losing on the biggest stage for a second straight year.
Could it all happen? Possibly. With Manning at the controls, anything is possible for the Horns in 2025.
