'Tis the season for college football coaches to lobby for spots in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
And one of the most vocal coaches on the campaign trail has been Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian, whose program is on the outside looking in while currently sitting at 13th in the latest rankings. Sarkisian immediately stumped for the Longhorns after its big victory over Texas A&M this past Saturday.
But, perhaps sensing a losing battle, Sarkisian, during an appearance on Sirius XM Radio earlier Tuesday, vented his frustrations with the apparent lack of a reward for a tough schedule.
"My point is...why the hell am I going to play that game next year?"@TexasFootball head coach @CoachSark tells @ChildersRadio and @CoachNeuheisel why the Longhorns tough schedule, including a game against No. 1 Ohio State, should benefit them in the College Football Playoff. pic.twitter.com/x4agfK5Pt7
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) December 2, 2025
“Nobody that's being considered for the College Football Playoff has a better strength of schedule than ours,” Sarkisian said. “We're number five in strength of schedule overall and no other school from Ohio State down has a better strength of schedule than we do...”
Sarkisian went on to point to the Longhorns' head-to-head victories over eighth-ranked Oklahoma and No. 14 Vanderbilt—which was a top-10 team at the time in which Texas played them—both teams that possess the same 6-2 record in SEC play as the Longhorns, as another feather in his program's cap. The Texas coach noted that his program played five opponents ranked within the top-10 this season, including No. 1 Ohio State, against whom the Longhorns acquitted themselves better than any other team in the country this season.
Sarkisian perceives a lack of respect for the Longhorns' tough schedule from the College Football Playoff committee, which has him wondering why tough games such as the Buckeyes' contest should even be played.
“...And I get it, we scheduled Ohio State,” Sarkisian continued. “We went and played that game. We lose 14-7. We get stopped inside the 5-yard line twice on two fourth downs. We outgain them [the Buckeyes] by nerly 200 yards. We lose 14-7. We lost the game. But they've beaten nearly every other team they've played on their schedule by three scores. And so at that point it's like, why do we even play that game?
“Because if we're a 10-2 team right now that played four top-10 ranked opponents with three wins still in the top-10, we're not even having a discussion right now. We're probably ranked sixth in the CFP. So my point is, why the hell am I going to play that game next year?”
College Football Playoff committee chair explains why Texas isn't in top-12
Sarkisian acknowledged the Longhorns' road loss to unranked Florida, saying the Longhorns “stubbed their toe” in that game. And it seems like the committee is having trouble overlooking that particular defeat.
“You're spot on,” committee chair Hunter Yurachek said on Tuesday when asked if the Longhorns' loss to Florida is a main factor. “The committee has a great deal of respect for Texas and they've played an incredible schedule... But one key stat this week in the teams ranked in our top-15, there's 17 total losses for those teams.
“Sixteen of those losses came against teams that are currently ranked or have been ranked in our top-25 this year. The only loss to an unranked team was Texas's loss to Florida at Florida, and really, Florida dominated that game... So it's not that Texas played Ohio State, it is Texas's loss to Florida that's holding them back.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as With Texas on CFP Bubble, Steve Sarkisian Has One Big Question About Ohio State Game.
