Texas Involved in Controversial Decision by College Football Playoff Committee

The Texas Longhorns moved up one spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings from No. 17 to No. 16.

The Longhorns have their CFP hopes on life support headed into Friday's rivalry matchup against the Texas A&M Aggies, as Texas needs an upset win and outside help in order to have a chance at sneaking into the bracket.

While that certainly remains the focus in Austin, there was some debate on social media after fans saw a controversial decision by the committee that indirectly involved Texas.

Texas, Michigan CFP Ranking Sparks Debate

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian reacts to a replay on the video scoreboard during the second quarter against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Michigan Wolverines surprisingly jumped up three spots from No. 18 to No. 15, leapfrogging Texas despite being ranked behind the Longhorns during each CFP rankings reveal.

Once the rankings were released, many fans and analysts took to social media to react to the CFP's decision, pointing to the results from both teams over the weekend as a clear indicator that the Wolverines should have remained behind Texas until further notice.

The Longhorns took down Arkansas 52-37, the largest margin of defeat for the Razorbacks in SEC play this season, while Michigan beat Maryland 45-20 on the road. Though Texas had three losses compared to the Wolverines' two, the Longhorns have a pair of Top-10 wins, including one over the Oklahoma Sooners, who beat Michigan 24-13 in the second game of the season.

Michigan would certainly fly up the ranking should it upset No. 1 Ohio State this weekend but a jump above Texas felt premature by the committee.

Here were some of the reactions on social media:

Certainly makes no sense that Michigan leaps Texas after Week 13 results.. if you want to argue they should have been ahead to begin with, sure..

But Texas beat Arkansas worse than ANY other SEC team this year.. and Michigan did what every other team in the B10 did to Maryland…
— ᴄᴏᴅʏ ᴄᴀʀᴘᴇɴᴛɪᴇʀ (@CodyCarpentier) November 26, 2025

Texas vs Michigan

Strength of record: 13th vs 14th
Strength of schedule: 10th vs 37th
Victories vs current top 25: 2 vs 0
Common opponent? OU. Michigan got crushed, Texas crushed OU

Yet, Michigan is ranked ahead of the Longhorns.
— HornSports (@HornSports) November 26, 2025

Why did Michigan jump Texas for beating Maryland? Just to keep space between Vanderbilt and Texas and avoid that head-to-head conversation? Weird.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) November 26, 2025

How in the world does Michigan jump Texas in the rankings after a win over Maryland?
— HornSports (@HornSports) November 26, 2025

Steve Sarkisian Not Concerned With CFP Before Texas A&M Game

Ask Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian what he thinks of the latest CFP rankings, and he'd probably echo the same message he had when speaking to the media on Monday.

The Longhorns are focused on the rivalry matchup against Texas A&M, which is also Senior Night for Texas. Everything else will work itself out if Texas is lucky enough to sneak into the 12-team bracket.

"I think that would be a mistake of mine and our team and our staff to be worried about what (a win could do," Sarkisian said. "I think this game deserves all that it deserves, and this is a great rivalry game. We're playing an undefeated team in the Southeastern Conference, which is really hard to do. They're a long standing rival of ours. That's where our focus and energy is, and that's what we can control."

"I think the moment you start putting energy into things that are out of our control, man, you miss what's right in front of you," he continued. "And this is too big of a game, too special of an opportunity. It's senior day for us. Our seniors will be honored. I mean, it's a night game in DKR. I think it's only our second SEC night game in two years in DKR. So there's some really special things about this game, and that's where our focus is. What happens after the game will take care of itself. We need to focus on the task at hand."