The 62 voters who make up the AP Top 25 Poll and the 13 members who form the College Football Playoff committee view the Texas Longhorns in a very similar light: right around the fifth-best team in the nation.
On Tuesday night, the first CFP rankings of the season were released and the Horns were given the No. 5 ranking but the sixth seed in the playoffs, landing them in a first-round game against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Just two days earlier, on Sunday after Week 10, the AP Poll bumped Texas from the No. 6 spot to the No. 5 spot in the country, trailing only No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Ohio State, and No. 4 Miami.
In the first CFP rankings, of the six releases that come ahead of the postseason, Texas was given the sixth seed overall. However, because of the highest-ranked conference champions taking the top-four spots, the rankings don't perfectly reflect the seedings.
Ranking | Team | Seed |
|---|---|---|
1 | Oregon | 1 |
2 | Ohio State | 5 |
3 | Georgia | 2 |
4 | Miami (FL) | 3 |
5 | Texas | 6 |
6 | Penn State | 7 |
7 | Tennessee | 8 |
8 | Indiana | 9 |
9 | BYU | 4 |
10 | Notre Dame | 10 |
11 | Alabama | 11 |
12 | Boise State | 12 |
To put it simply, the Longhorns are projected to continue along the same path they've followed so far this season: being a predominately incredible team but falling short every once in a while (a.k.a., against Georgia).
Texas is currently projected to face the 11-seed and 11th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the first round of the playoffs. Because the Longhorns would be the higher-seeded team, Texas would host Alabama at Darrell K Royal Texas-Memorial Stadium.
Not every college football analyst agrees with Texas' spot in the first rankings and not every Longhorns fan is thrilled about the Horns being matched up with Alabama. No matter what, the Longhorns are back in the playoffs, this is the highest Texas has ever been ranked in the first CFP release, and playing the Tide in the first round of the playoffs would be pretty d*mn cool.