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Dave Wilson
AUSTIN, Texas — Shortly after vanquishing No. 3 Texas A&M in a heated rivalry game, Steve Sarkisian made his case for No. 16 Texas as worthy of a spot in the College Football Playoff team.
The 27-17 victory was Sarkisian’s third win over a top-10 team this season — following wins over No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 9 Vanderbilt — which he touted as a first since 2019 LSU did the same.
«I think we’re absolutely a playoff team,» Sarkisian said, noting that there have been pundits who argued that Texas A&M was the top team in the country by strength of schedule metrics. «We just beat them by two scores. So, to me, that’s a pretty impressive win, a pretty dominant win for our team that I don’t know how many other teams can say they have wins like that on their schedule.»
Texas also lost on the road to No. 3 Ohio State in the season opener and again at No. 5 Georgia two weeks ago, finishing the season 3-2 against top-10 teams. The 14-7 loss to the Buckeyes, Sarkisian said, is the true test of what the CFP committee values, saying if the Longhorns had scheduled a cupcake, they’d be 10-2.
«We went on the road to Ohio State in Week 1 and lost to them in a one-score game,» Sarkisian said. «We outgained them by nearly 200 yards and no one else has been close to a one score game against them. But I think more importantly, it’s the message that what do we want to send to the head coaches and the athletic directors around the country? Do you want us not to schedule Ohio State? Because if we’re a 10-2 team right now, this isn’t a discussion. We’re in the playoff. But we were willing to go up there and play that game.»
Sarkisian, in his postgame, on-field interview with ESPN’s Molly McGrath, went so far as to add that «it would be a disservice to our sport» if the Longhorns weren’t in the CFP field. And later, in his full media availability, he said that it would be easy for coaches and athletic directors to shy away from that type of scheduling in the future if the Longhorns are punished for such a high-profile matchup in the opening week of the season. Senior safety Michael Taaffe, who had an interception on his own 3-yard-line against the Aggies in the fourth quarter, agreed with his coach’s logic.
«I don’t think the committee should punish us for giving college football what they want to see,» Taaffe said. «Non-conference game, No. 1 vs. No. 2 in Columbus, Ohio, a rematch of the Cotton Bowl from last year, one of the biggest games in all college football. Everybody was tuning in for that game and I think college football is really happy that Texas played Ohio State in Week 1.»
According to ESPN Research, the five teams ranked from 11 to 15 in the CFP rankings are a combined 4-8 against ranked opponents.
Sarkisian acknowledged that the Longhorns would be in a much stronger position without the Oct. 4 loss to Florida at the Swamp, but said there’s also precedent for such a loss as recently as last season, when Notre Dame earned a playoff berth and ended up playing Ohio State in the CFP finals.
«The team that played for the national championship last year lost to Northern Illinois at home,» Sarkisian said, referring the the Irish. «Yet, they still were good enough to go play for a national title. So I have no doubt in my mind that the team we have in that locker room downstairs is a playoff football team and worthy of an opportunity to play for a national championship.»
Texas A&M led Texas 10-3 at the half as the Longhorns had just 112 yards and Arch Manning was 7-for-22 with 51 passing yards. But once Texas’ running game got going — Quintrevion Wisner ran for 155 yards — Manning rallied the Longhorns, finishing with 179 passing yards and 53 more rushing. He polished off the win with a 35-yard touchdown on third and 3 with a little over 7 minutes remaining in the game, sending Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium into a frenzy. The two halves were a microcosm of the season for Manning, in his first year as a starter, when he started slow, but turned into a true dual threat for Texas over the last half of the season.
«Nobody works harder. Nobody prepares more,» Sarkisian said of Manning. «I mean, the blitz packages that A&M has is elite. It’s NFL level. And this guy managed our protections at the line of scrimmage beautifully, did a fantastic job. So all in all, I think for him to cap it off with a touchdown run was a pretty cool moment.»
Manning said he believed Texas has improved vastly over the course of the season and is playing its best football right now. He was asked to make his pitch to the CFP committee and obliged.
«We’re a good team, bro,» Manning said. «We’ve played a lot of good teams. We’re only getting better and if you let us in we can beat anyone.»
And what would he make of this season if the Longhorns don’t get in?
«I think we’re going to make the playoffs,» Manning said. «I don’t know why we wouldn’t. I’m not going to worry about that.»
