Where Texas football ranks in the post-Week 8 ESPN FPI?

A really tough loss for head coach Steve Sarkisian and No. 20 Texas football saw this team fall short to longtime head coach Mike Gundy and the No. 11 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys on the road on Oct. 22. Texas fell short to Oklahoma State by the final score of 41-34 on the road at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater for the third loss of the season.

The loss to Oklahoma State moves the Longhorns to 5-3 (3-2 Big 12) on the season, also snapping a three-game winning streak. Texas was looking to head into the bye week on a high note by clearing out the October schedule and going undefeated through four games.

But Texas will now have a lot to work on heading into the bye week following the third loss of the campaign, and the second in Big 12 play.

So, where does Texas sit in some of the national standings following the loss to Oklahoma State in Week 8?

Where Steve Sarkisian and Texas football rank in the post-Week 8 ESPN FPI?

According to the ESPN Football Power Index, Texas ranks at No. 6 in the nation and in the top spot in the Big 12 ahead of Oklahoma State and the TCU Horned Frogs.

Texas slides down one spot in this week’s ESPN FPI, despite the loss to the Pokes this weekend. The No. 3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers moved into the top five after an expected dominant win over FCS Tennessee-Martin on Oct. 22.

The FPI now projects Texas to finish up with a record of 8.3-4.1 on the season. And Texas is now given a 23.6 percent chance to win out and a 26.2 percent chance to win the conference.

Granted, I don’t believe the FPI is a great way to picture the true standing of this Texas team at this point of the season. The FPI was really high on the Longhorns throughout the season, and that really shows up following the loss to the Pokes in Stillwater this weekend.

Sark and the Longhorns are still on track to finish up this campaign with a good level of improvement compared to last year. Next up for Sark and the Longhorns coming out of the bye week is a difficult meeting on the road in Manhattan on Nov. 5 against the No. 20 Kansas State Wildcats.