Steve Sarkisian's ongoing argument about missing the CFP can easily be debunked

Over the last seven months, the Texas Longhorns and head coach Steve Sarkisian have vehemently argued that they deserved a spot in the College Football Playoff at the end of last season.

"The committee’s got to show us what happens now, and what’s the value that they’re placing on strength of schedule. Are we ever going to let a 9-3 team in as an at-large? We’ll find out," Sarkisian said at SEC Media Days.

When you look at their overall record, which was 9-3 when the CFP bracket was finalized, you could almost make an argument that the Horns did deserve a spot among teams like the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers and SEC-winning Georgia Bulldogs.

However, even as teams that Texas beat (the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas A&M Aggies) earned bids to the playoffs, the Longhorns simply were not up to snuff.

Texas did not deserve a spot in the 2025 College Football Playoff

When choosing which teams make the CFP and which teams are left out every year, the College Football Playoff committee takes a few things into consideration, including overall record, strength of schedule, and on-field performance.

While Texas's strength of schedule was undeniably above that of a few teams that made the cut, and the Horns' overall record was good enough to be in the conversation, Sarkisian's team did not look like a playoff contender. It's that simple.

The three losses were scattered throughout the year, with the first coming against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Week 1. If you ignore that loss, as Sarkisian argues you should, since the Horns were willing to play a Power Conference team instead of scheduling a cupcake opponent, the Horns would have been 9-2 overall.

The other two losses came against the Georgia Bulldogs, another "quality loss" as some experts call it, and the Florida Gators, who were 4-8 and falling apart at the seams last year.

In other words, the loss to Florida was a "bad loss" for Texas. Then, in those nine wins, the Longhorns didn't have a whole lot of "quality wins" over Power Conference opponents. Victories over Sam Houston, San Jose State, and UTEP aren't exactly anything to write home about, and beyond the strong performances against Texas A&M and Oklahoma, the Horns looked rather rocky.

The Kentucky Wildcats, who were 2-4 when the two teams played, took Texas into overtime before Sarkisian could finally eke a 16-13 victory out. Just one game later, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who were 4-4 overall but 0-4 against SEC teams when they met, also took the Horns into OT before Texas could claim the win.

Also read: Colin Simmons knows anything less than a natty would be a 'disappointment' for Texas

The Longhorns only earned a three-point victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores on their own field at DKR and allowed a terrible Arkansas Razorbacks team to score 37 points on them.

The Sooners and the Aggies, the only teams Texas beat to make the CFP, were immediately knocked out of the postseason, despite hosting their first-round games. Oklahoma lost 34-24 to the Alabama Crimson Tide, despite holding a 17-0 lead in the second quarter, and Texas A&M failed to score a touchdown in its first-round matchup, losing 10-3 to the Miami Hurricanes.

Yes, on paper, the wins and losses worked heavily in Texas's favor last season. However, making the College Football Playoff is about more than what your overall record says.

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