Kirk Herbstreit Confused by Frustration Surrounding Texas vs. Vanderbilt Debate

It's really not that complicated, Diego Pavia.

Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football game analyst Kirk Herbstreit stands on the field during halftime of the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

After ending their regular season with an upset 27-17 win over the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies, the Texas Longhorns were boosted from No. 16 to No. 13 in the weekly rankings, putting them over the No. 14 Vanderbilt Commodores, which ruffled the feathers of quarterback Diego Pavia.

Despite falling to the Longhorns 34-31 in Austin earlier in the year, Pavia was very clear in his opinion that the 10-2 Commodores deserved more of a playoff spot than Steve Sarkisian's squad did.

And that head-to-head win for the Horns is the exact reasoning that ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit gave for Texas leapfrogging Vanderbilt in the rankings.

"Why Are We Getting Upset Over That?"

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit smiles prior to a game between the Texas Longhorns and the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

During a recent episode ofNonstop, Herbstreit was respectful towards Pavia, head coach Clark Lea, and the Vanderbilt program overall, but still couldn't understand why there was much of an argument for Texas being ranked above Vanderbilt.

"I know Diego Pavia gets a lot of the attention, and he should," Herbstreit said. "But Clark Lea has re-upped. It's his alma mater. I've got a feeling that Vandy's not going away. He's a great coach and has a great staff. I love Vandy and I love their year, but Texas just beat the No. 3 team in the country, and they beat Vandy head-to-head. Why are we getting upset over that?"

Pavia was strong in his argument of the 'Dores belonging the playoffs, citing the teams that they beat as well as when they beat them playing a deciding factor.

“I think it’s a lot of politics at the top with what’s going on,” Pavia said. “I think if you look at our strength of schedule at the beginning of the year, the people we beat, when we beat them, on the road. There’s no other 10-2 SEC team left out. That’s the other thing. And then, they have Texas ahead of us too. I don’t know what’s going on or what they’re thinking up there, but I feel like we deserve to be in the College Football Playoff.”

In terms of record, obviously Vanderbilt could get an edge, they only have two losses while Texas has three, and even though Texas lost to a horrific Florida Gators squad earlier in the season, they still beat Vanderbilt and that is going to give them all the advantage they need if it came down to the two SEC schools.

However, as the two teams sit No. 13 and No. 14 right now with the final saying going down Sunday afternoon, it seems that both of their arguments could be irrelevant, unless the Georgia Bulldogs take down the Alabama Crimson in the SEC Championship game Saturday afternoon.

If that happens, then things could get interesting for the 12-person committee in Grapevine, TX.