The Texas Longhorns escaped the trap game that their trip to Fayetteville became. After a close call, but still a win, over the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Horns maintained their top-four spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
Based on the rankings, with the Longhorns ranked No. 3 but seeded No. 2, Texas would receive a bye in the first round of the first-ever 12-team playoffs.
Here's the 12-team bracket as it currently stands with the CFP rankings: pic.twitter.com/W0QqsF3VAp
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 20, 2024
This would mean that the Horns would have to make it to the SEC Championship game and walk away with the conference title. If that does not happen, Texas will not receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Instead, the Horns would most likely receive an at-large bid for the playoffs and have to host a home game in the first round.
So what is it going to take for Texas to get to the SEC Championship game? Winning both of its last two games of the regular season.
In Week 13, the Horns are hosting the Kentucky Wildcats and just one week later, Texas will visit the Texas A&M Aggies for the first time in 13 years for the Lone Star Showdown.
If Texas can walk away from both games with a win, the Longhorns will set themselves up for their best opportunity to play in the conference title game and, hopefully, enter the playoffs with a first-round bye.
"Texas needs to perform," Rece Davis said during ESPN's College Football Playoffs rankings show. "These games matter."
Davis is right, Texas must show up and show out. The Longhorns need to win against Kentucky and Texas A&M. A loss would knock them down in the rankings and most likely forfeit their opportunity to play in the conference championship game, therefore negating their first-round bye.