Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Longhorns have an overall record of 9-3 in the 2025 college football season, which gives them a chance to secure a spot in the Playoffs.
However, many fans and analysts believe the Longhorns are not really deserving of the Playoff spot because of a few reasons, one being that Alabama, which finished the 2024 season with a 9-4 record, didn’t get a chance to compete in the playoffs, hence Texas shouldn’t get it as well.
Another factor is that, despite having only three losses, they came close to losing a few games that weren’t particularly competitive, such as against Kentucky and MS State.
While some fans give the Longhorns the grace of losing to Giants like Georgia and Ohio State, they struggle to accept the Florida loss, given the kind of season they have had.
Despite the debate, Steve Sarkisian believes his team should “unequivocally” get a spot in the CFPs this season. During his appearance on Colin Cowherd’s show “The Herd” on Monday, Sarkisian said:
“I’d love to say that we went out and played a perfect season. We didn’t; we lost some tough games, but so did a lot of other people. I think the difference is, we won some really big games, you know, we played 5, you know, top 10 teams in the country. Out of our 12 regular-season games, 5 of them were against top-10-ranked teams in the country.”
“3 of those were wins, 2 of which are ranked in the current top 10, and the other one, Vanderbilt is just outside the top 10. You know, we finished the season after that Florida game 6-1. And of those 6 wins, you know, 4 of them were against, uh, you know, top 10 ranked teams. We went 3-1 in those four games,” Sarkisian added.
Paul Finebaum Gives Steve Sarkisian a Nod in the Latest Playoffs Take
Paul Finebaum was one of the Longhorns’ biggest supporters during the preseason because of Arch Manning, whom the analyst thought would lead Texas to a national championship this year.
While Finebaum admitted that he might have gone a little overboard with his predictions, he still believes Texas deserves a spot in the Playoffs despite its 9-3 record.
The ESPN analyst said he agrees with Steve Sarkisian’s point that it’s really about the first game, when the Longhorns went to Ohio State and had a meaningful outing.
Finebaum mentioned that while Texas has some bad losses like the one against Florida, they had some significant wins, which trump them.
“So I think they’re gonna be penalized for doing the right thing, and that’s wrong. And in my mind, Texas belongs in the College Football Playoff, even with that record.” Finebaum said.
Texas finished the regular season with an impressive 27-17 win against the Aggies, a team that remained undefeated the entire year.
Read More News:
“Mauled Twice With No Flags”: Multiple Missed Pass Interference Calls On Ryan Wingo Draw Fan Fury
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
