See why the Texas Longhorns are an ‘enigma’ in the latest CFP projections heading into SEC play
As the first bye week arrives, the Texas Longhorns still find themselves in the thick of the race. But it has warts.
Despite rebounding from a Week 1 loss to Ohio State, the Texas Longhorns are still a “wait-and-see” candidate for the College Football Playoff rankings. ESPN’s Heather Dinich gave her thoughts on the Southeastern Conference candidates and why she has them listed as a “spotlight” or an “enigma”.
And even though the Longhorns are now 3-1 and still ranked inside the Top 10, lots of folks are still skeptical of what Steve Sarkisian’s program can do in 2025.
Let’s see why Dinich lists Texas as an “enigma” as Week 5 approaches.
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There’s an in-state program hindering Texas’ spotlight right now.
“The Longhorns dropped out of the top 12 this week because Texas Tech moved in. That doesn’t mean Texas isn’t a playoff team – it just hasn’t proved it yet with wins against San Jose State, UTEP and Sam Houston,” Dinich said. “The SEC season opener at Florida on Oct. 4 is also a strange one, as it’s a game the Longhorns could lose but shouldn’t if they are a real playoff team. They’ve got a bye week to prepare for it.
“A Texas win won’t do much to reassert its place in the national picture, but a loss would be telling,” Dinich said. “The most likely outcome is the selection committee will learn more about Texas on Oct. 11 against rival Oklahoma, which is in the projected top 12 this week.”
The upcoming game versus Florida is HUGE in terms of how serious of a CFP candidate the Texas Longhorns are for the 2025 season.
Heather Dinich takes it a step further and predicts where Texas would be if CFP field were announced today.
The ESPN college football writer thinks as of today, the only SEC programs in the CFP field for sure are Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas A&M. No real shock outside of Tennessee who already has one loss. The others are undefeated.
In the “work to do” tier, Dinich lists Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas, and Vanderbilt. Now, this is where the exercise needs some context and nuance. This is all a hypothetical. There’s certainly a case for these programs because some are still undefeated and others have only lost once. But, programs like Auburn, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt have potential hurdles on the schedule.
All in all, Texas is still in the mix and everything the Longhorns want to play for is in front of them. Florida is the first big step to improving the resume. If Sarkisian can keep this thing between the mustard and mayo prior to the Red River Shootout, things could be a lot of fun in Austin come November.
