Saturday’s upheaval across college football gave Texas a jolt of life.
What started with a rough result against Florida now looks a lot less terminal after a wild slate shook up the national picture. The Southeastern Conference’s official X account summed it up with one word: “CHAOS.” That chaos hit hard, and it may have done the Longhorns a favor.
The most damaging piece for Texas, of course, is still the same: the Longhorns have two losses, and if they don’t clean up their own play and start winning, none of this matters. But after a day when the No. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 teams in the country all fell, the loss to Florida no longer feels like the kind of result that automatically buries a playoff team.
That matters because the College Football Playoff picture is getting messy in a hurry. A three-loss team has a tough road in the current format, as last year showed.
This year could be different, though, because the biggest conferences are beating each other up. The SEC has been especially brutal to sort out.
There isn’t a team in the league with a perfect conference record. Only four teams have just one conference loss.
Georgia, ranked No. 1, was upset by Auburn in Athens. Alabama lost at Tennessee.
And both teams could still take more hits before the regular season is done.
Kentucky, Tennessee and Ole Miss also sit with one conference loss, but it’s hard to see the Wildcats or Volunteers finishing that clean. Ole Miss still has Georgia and Texas on the schedule, and the Longhorns can hand the Rebels another loss next week.
Elsewhere, the upsets kept piling up. Notre Dame lost to BYU in one of the few truly difficult games on its schedule.
Indiana suffered its first loss, falling to Ohio State. Miami needed overtime and a questionable call to get past Florida State.
Missouri, Mississippi State and Oklahoma State also went down as ranked teams took a beating.
For Texas, that kind of carnage is useful. The more losses pile up among the teams at the top of the rankings, the better the Longhorns’ path looks - if they can do their part on the field.
There’s also a broader reason the landscape feels more open: NIL has made the sport more balanced. The biggest programs still have an edge, but they can’t separate from everybody else by a huge margin. Schools like Kentucky, Mississippi State and Missouri are investing more, and that has helped bring more real talent into places like Lexington, Starkville and Oxford.
So the message for Texas fans is simple. Root for the chaos. If the Longhorns fix their own issues and start stacking wins, the wreckage from Saturday could help them stay in the CFP conversation.
In Other News...
Alabama Suddenly Faces Real Pressure After College Footballs Wildest Shakeup
College football spent one wild October Saturday blowing up its own hierarchy, and Texas was right in the middle of it. Five of the AP Top 25s top seven teams went down in Week 7, an almost unthinkable turn in a regular season, with No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas all taking losses on the same day.
The result is a rankings shakeup that could leave Miami atop the poll for the first time since 2002 after its double-overtime win over Florida State. For Texas, the sting is obvious, but so is the broader reality: when the sports upper crust gets rattled this badly, one bad Saturday can reshape the playoff chase in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Arch Manning Suddenly Faces A Texas Question Fans Never Wanted
Two straight losses have turned Arch Mannings start into the kind of conversation Texas hoped it would not have to have this early. The Longhorns came into the stretch expecting steadier play from the quarterback spot, but the recent skid has put the offense under a brighter spotlight and forced the staff to look hard at what is and is not working.
Steve Sarkisian said the offense needs a full evaluation, and that includes the quarterback position. With KJ Lacey, Dia Bell and MJ Morris among the names being discussed as possible alternatives, the question around Manning is no longer just about development or patience. It has become part of a broader search for answers as Texas tries to stop the slide. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Fans Still Waiting On Colin Simmons After Brutal Injury Scare
Colin Simmons gave Texas a real scare when the edge rusher went down with a lower-leg injury and had to be carted off for evaluation. The early word is that he suffered a sprained ankle, but the Longhorns are still waiting on a clearer picture as they turn their attention to Ole Miss.
Steve Sarkisian said the staff will keep evaluating Simmons, and the next official checkpoint should come with the SEC availability report later in the week. For a Texas defense that leans on Simmons impact off the edge, the timing makes this one worth watching closely as game week unfolds. [Read more 🡒]