The Texas Longhorns Deserve A Spot In The College Football Playoff

The Texas Longhorns dominated the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Big 12 Championship 49-21, and they deserve a spot in the College Football Playoff

Matt Galatzan | Dec 2, 2023

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Texas Longhorns

ARLINGTON, TX -- There are not four better teams in College Football than the Texas Longhorns.

After their 49-21 drubbing of the Oklahoma State Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in the Big 12 Championship, the Longhorns are not only a certified College Football Playoff contender, but they deserve a spot in the playoff as well.

Oregon is out of the way thanks to its loss to Washington on Friday night, and conventional wisdom would say that the Horns still need the Florida State Seminoles to lose in the ACC Championship game to Louisville on Saturday night.

That said, even if the Seminoles win vs. the Cardinals, Texas has done more than enough to be voted into the top four.

The Longhorns currently have four wins over ranked opponents this season, including perhaps the best win of any team in the country after marching into Tuscaloosa against Alabama and winning by double digits.

They have won their last two games by a combined score of 106-28, and they have the 14th-ranked strength of schedule in the nation.

Texas Longhorns celebrate their domination of Oklahoma State in Arlington / USA Today Sports

Meanwhile, the Seminoles (as we write this) have beaten two ranked opponents, only one of which currently ranks within the CFP Top 25 Rankings, while three remain in the rankings for Texas.

And though it is not the fault of the Seminoles, their best player, quarterback Jordan Travis is unavailable for the rest of the season after suffering an unfortunate injury.

Yes, Florida State is unblemished, and yes, Texas has a loss on its resumè. But it took a miracle final drive by the No. 12 ranked team in the nation in Oklahoma to make that happen.

Will this be a popular opinion? Outside of the state of Texas, probably not.

But based on the way the Longhorns have played in the last two weeks, and their iron-clad resumè, the Longhorns more than deserve a spot in the the CFP.

Because there are not four better teams in college football than the Texas Longhorns.

Longhorns Dominate Oklahoma State, Win Big 12 Championship

Published Dec 2, 2023

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.