Texas Longhorns ranked No. 7 in first College Football Playoff rankings reveal
Texas linebacker Justin Cryer (28), Texas linebacker Rasheem Biles (3), and Texas edge Zina Umeozulu (19) celebrate a sack during the game against Mississippi State at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Texas football‘s résumé is imperfect through eight games. But it’s still good enough to qualify for the College Football Playoff, according to the first rankings reveal of the season Tuesday night.
The Longhorns (6–2, 3–2 SEC) are ranked No. 7 in the initial CFP rankings released on ESPN. That’s three spots above Texas’ No. 10 spot in the Associated Press Poll. The Longhorns’ No. 7 ranking would make them the third at-large team in this year’s College Football Playoff, a ranking that for now would have them host No. 10 Ole Miss in Austin for a first-round matchup Dec. 18 or Dec. 19. Texas defeated Ole Miss 34-27 last month at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
Texas hopes to reach the CFP for the third time under head coach Steve Sarkisian. The Longhorns recorded their first appearance in 2023, the final year of the four-team playoff. Texas then reached the CFP semifinals in 2024 when it lost to Ohio State at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Texas did not qualify for the CFP last year before defeating Michigan in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian leads his team to the field for the second half of the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman)
With two losses, Texas is no lock for the playoff. The road doesn’t get easier in the immediate future. Each of Texas’ next two games are on the road at ranked SEC opponents, with Saturday’s game at No. 18 Missouri preceding a Nov. 14 game at No. 14 LSU.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian celebrates with linebacker Justin Cryer (28) after beating Mississippi at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin on Saturday Oct. 24, 2026. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman)
Win each of the next two games, then secure expected wins over Arkansas and Texas A&M, and Texas is CFP-bound. Lose to either Missouri or LSU, however, and a murky playoff argument begins. No three-loss team has ever qualified for the Playoff without reaching its conference championship game. Sarkisian believes Texas could be the team to make history given its strength of schedule, with a nine-game SEC slate paired with Texas’ September win against then-No. 1 Ohio State.
"Here we are last week at the halfway mark of conference play and every team already had a loss. And there’s really good teams with multiple losses already," Sarkisian said late last month. "So what is it really going to look like when there’s 9-3 SEC teams compared to 10-2 or even 11-1 teams from other conferences? How much value is going to be placed in that?"
Here’s Steve Sarkisian extended comments on preferring an expanded Playoff given SEC teams play a nine-game conference schedule. "What is it really gonna look like when there’s 9-3 SEC teams compared to 10-2 or even 11-1 teams from other conferences. Full story ➡️ https://t.co/Mi0Arj2PrR
– Michael Shapiro (@mshap2) October 30, 2026
Texas’ head coach could spend December lobbying for a CFP spot if his team loses one of its next four games. Win out, and the road to a playoff spot is clear, with a first-round game at DKR potentially on the calendar.
This article originally published at Texas Longhorns ranked No. 7 in first College Football Playoff rankings reveal.
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