Texas Longhorns Spot in College Football Playoff Uncertain After Florida State Seminoles Beat Louisville Cardinals
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas Longhorns won the Big 12 Championship in emphatic fashion on Saturday, jumping out to a quick lead over the Oklahoma State Cowboys en route to a 49-21 victory.
However, the Longhorns could eventually be looking back at what could've been this season, as their spot in the College Football Playoff is now uncertain after the Florida State Seminoles completed an undefeated 13-0 season by winning the ACC Championship 16-6 over the Louisville Cardinals in Charlotte on Saturday night.
There's now five teams with a real shot to make the CFP, but there's of course only four spots. The Washington Huskies and Michigan Wolverines are both undefeated with conference titles to their names headed into Selection Sunday. Florida State now joins those two, which leaves Texas and Alabama as conference champs with a 12-1 record. Georgia has a (bull)dog in the fight as well, though the loss to Bama in the SEC Championship game dropped the Bulldogs to a 12-1 record with no conference championship on the resume.
Texas and Alabama both have incredible resumes, but also both have blemishes on the record. The most obvious difference is that Bama's only blemish is because of Texas' 34-24 win in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 9. That game could now be making this year's final CFP decision extra tough for the committee, while the impact of the Longhorns' loss to the then-No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners on Oct. 7 should also be taken into account.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark hands teh Big 12 championship to Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian after the win against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
© Kevin Jairaj, USA TODAY
The Seminoles, despite their lack of a productive offense with star quarterback Jordan Travis out for the year, have blemishes of their own, but 13-0 and an ACC title speaks for itself. Whether the nation likes it or not, Florida State has likely punched its ticket.
The Longhorns' win over then-No. 3 Alabama will obviously be a deciding factor depending on how heavily the committee values it now. Texas has been ranked over the Tide in each ranking release of the CFP Top 25, which has been a promising sign that that win would give the Longhorns the edge in an unofficial tiebreaker scenario.
Will the same hold up on Sunday?
The committee will have no choice but to leave out one of Florida State, Alabama or Texas. No matter who misses out, there will no doubt be an incredible uproar of outrage from whichever fan base sees its team fall outside the final four.
Despite the two teams securing big wins on Saturday, Texas and Alabama fans will both be holding their breath on Sunday amid all the uncertainty.
