Here's How the Texas Longhorns Can Still Make the College Football Playoff With 3 Losses

Texas football sits at 7-2 on the season with three games remaining on the team's schedule.

Texas Longhorns defensive end Colin Simmons (1) celebrates with the golden hat following the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorn at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns are once again raising expectations after an impressive four-game winning streak in the SEC has improved the team to 7-2 on the season.

With big-time, ranked wins over Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, Texas may find itself in the playoff conversation.

That is certainly the opinion of the Athletic's Stewart Mandel, who thinks this Texas team may have the strength to finish the season with no more than three losses, with a win over either No. 5 Georgia or No. 3 Texas A&M.

Texas Could Be A Few Wins Away From a Playoff Spot

Nov 1, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) passes ahead of Vanderbilt Commodores defensive back Thomas Jones (9) during the second half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

"Yes, I said it: A 9-3 Texas team that adds a top-5 win over Georgia or Texas A&M to a resume that already includes two top 10-15 wins over Oklahoma and Vanderbilt is probably getting in," Mandel said. "The first rankings affirmed that Texas, as of today, would be the first team out. Most of the teams above the Longhorns will lose at least one more game as well, but few will be able to add as big a win as Georgia or A&M. With just one bad loss, at Florida, the Longhorns would have a better resume than last year’s 9-3 Alabama team."

While Texas may have suffered two losses this season, they may prove excusable if Texas can, in fact, defeat either the Bulldogs or the Aggies. The Longhorns' first loss of the season came against now top-ranked Ohio State in Columbus and unranked Florida in Gainesville.

And should the Longhorns win against either Georgia or Texas A&M, as well as their matchup with Arkansas, they would hold three top-10 wins to their name.

Meanwhile, last year's 9-3 Alabama Crimson Tide squad, which controversially missed the College Football Playoff in favor of a two-loss SMU, had three ranked wins, but just one top-10 wins to their name. They also had two bad losses to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.

SMU would go on to get blown out in their first playoff game vs. Penn State.

Since the Florida loss, Texas has won four straight, with the team averaging nearly thirty points per game. In those games, Texas quarterback Arch Manning has averaged 243 passing yards and thrown a total of seven touchdowns. Over the course of the past two games, Manning has thrown for 300+ yards and three passing touchdowns in each contest.

The offense as a whole has seen some serious improvements compared to the start of the season, as the young team continues to develop its chemistry.

Matched with one of the nation's top defenses and special teams units, the Longhorns are starting to look as well-rounded as any other team in the SEC.

Texas is currently on a bye as it prepares to travel to Athens to face the Bulldogs in yet another away matchup this season.

With their playoff hopes on the line, Texas may be closer to securing a spot in the college football playoffs for the third-straight season than we originally thought