Former QB Not Happy About Texas Longhorns' Snub in CFP Rankings

The Texas Longhorns narrowly missing the 12-team College Football Playoff during the first rankings of the year was not taken too kindly by one analyst.

Nov 1, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian leads his team on to the field before a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The first College Football Playoff ranking of the 2025 season was released Tuesday night, and as is per usual with these kinds of selections, everybody was in total agreement of the results of the ranking, from the teams involved to the rankings themselves.

We kid, we kid. But couldn't you imagine it?

The big issue surrounding the Longhorns and the CFP rankings weren't necessarily where they were ranked, it was who was ranked above them, specifically the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who made the No. 10 spot in the ranks, while the Longhorns were right behind them in 11th, but were not included in the 12-team field that would have signified the playoff teams had the season ended today.

Jordan Rodgers Voices Frustration With Notre Dame Ranked Above Texas, Oklahoma

Dec 7, 2024; Atlanta, GA, USA; ESPN announcer Jordan Rodgers before the 2024 SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The idea that the Irish were spotted as high as they were was enough to raise some eyebrows, but ESPN analyst Jordan Rodgers was particularly peeved over the results, especially that they were ranked over both Texas and Oklahoma. 

“No,” Rodgers said on the Get Up show. “That was absurd. Again, the eye test, right? The committee goes, ‘Oh, but those two running backs. They’re so good. The defense is playing better.’ Yeah, but what have they done on the field? Notre Dame has one Top 25 win. Texas has two. Oklahoma has two. Their losses, I think, are even better for Texas and Oklahoma.”

Notre Dame's sole Top 25 win was against the No. 20 USC Trojans and the two losses the Irish have suffered were both to ranked teams at the beginning of the season: the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes and the No. 16 Texas A&M Aggies.

But since then, Marcus Freeman's team has done nothing but stack wins in the 2025 season, and that is likely the one argument that has kept the Fighting Irish alive in their season, along with the two teams that they lost to, two teams that are still ranked in the Top 25 today.

The Longhorns have suffered losses to the Ohio State Buckeyes, the current No. 1 team in the country, but also the Florida Gators, who have struggled up to this point and seemed to have every part of their game firing on all cylinders when the Longhorns visited "The Swamp."

As for the Sooners, their only losses were to the then unranked Longhorns and two weeks later against the No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels, and they came in at No. 12 in the CFP rankings.

The arguments from both sides are understandable. Notre Dame has two losses, but are against high-tier opponents. The Longhorns also have two losses, but they've beaten two of those high-tier opponents.

Thankfully, there is still an entire month of games to go for both teams, plenty of time to make or break a playoff run.