Steve Sarkisian Changes Tone on Texas' College Football Playoff Fate

The Texas Longhorns will see their name pop up in the final College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings on Sunday, but they won't be included in the 12-team bracket.

Barring a shocking, change-of-heart decision by the committee, No.13 Texas will be missing out on the CFP after finishing the regular season with a 9-3 record. After a 27-17 win over then-No. 3 Texas A&M, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian made his rounds on seemingly every major sports media network to passionately plead his case for why the Longhorns deserve to make the playoff.

He was met with some criticism as a result, but after the committee released its final pre-bracket rankings on Tuesday and had Texas on the outside of the bubble with little wiggle room, Sarkisian's tone has changed a bit and showed that he has accepted reality.

Steve Sarkisian at Terms With Texas' Fate

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian observes the second half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

While meeting with the media during Early Signing Day on Wednesday, Sarkisian didn't outright say that he knows his Texas won't make the CFP but it's clear that the focus is now on the team's bowl game and preparation for next season.

"I guess I'm at a point now where we can agree to disagree on what the principles and the parameters are on what makes up one of the best 12 teams in the country to play in the playoff," Sarkisian said. " ... What I've learned out of this whole thing is we got to control what we can control, and we got to win more games, and we got to win the games that are right in front of us. And clearly we didn't do enough of that this year."

He was then asked about potential opt-outs for the bowl game, as some notable Texas players with NFL potential could elect to sit out to avoid injury. Knowing that the Longhorns will be headed to one of the high-tier, non-CFP bowl games, Sarkisian made it clear that he thinks everyone needs to play in the bowl game if able, as it allows players to add more to their tape.

"I think every player on our team, whether they're going to the draft or not, needs to play in this game," Sarkisian said. "It's another opportunity to build their resume, to put to put things on tape that the NFL can lean into, that can help them evaluate them for the draft. We're going to play a quality opponent, regardless of who it is, so they can work on their craft here in December and maybe put a little better product on the field for them."

Many bowl projections have Texas slated to face the Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31 due to the SEC vs. Big Ten tie-in. The Longhorns beat Michigan in Ann Arbor last season, 31-12.