Texas Football: 5 takeaways from the wild Red River win for the Longhorns
1. The College Football Playoff could become a reality for the Longhorns
If only the Horns had taken care of business against the Terps earlier in the season. This would likely be a top five ranked team at this point and in clear position to contend for the College Football Playoff. However, Texas will have to remain perfect for the rest of the season to have a realistic shot at the Playoff.
A one-loss Big 12 Championship Texas team would easily make it into the Playoff field. Part of that is due to the brand name that the Horns would bring to the table, and the other is that this team would be tending up more so than about any other program in the nation. That might be barring the No. 1. ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
The most recent release of the AP Poll had the Horns as the No. 9 ranked team in the nation. Oklahoma also dropped out of the top 10. West Virginia is the only other Big 12 team in the Playoff. And, Texas, Oklahoma, and West Virginia are the only Big 12 teams that are ranked altogether after the losses from the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Texas Tech Red Raiders over the past two weeks.
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The most difficult challenge for Texas football the rest of the way is going to be superstar senior quarterback Will Grier and West Virginia. Texas gets West Virginia on the Forty Acres later in the regular season and might be favored if the team doesn’t slip up before then. But it’s as simple as this for Texas, run the table and you’re in the Playoff come end of the regular season and Big 12 Championship Game.