There's One Final Piece of Hope for Texas' College Football Playoff Chances

Despite a massive win over the Texas A&M Aggies in the final game of the regular season, it appears the Texas Longhorns will be left out of the College Football Playoff.

Texas rose up three spots from No. 16 to No. 13 during the latest rankings released Tuesday, but with this being the CFP committee's final order until the official bracket reveal on Sunday, there isn't a realistic path for the Longhorns to suddenly jump the teams ahead of them and into the No. 10 spot (No. 11 and No. 12 will go to ACC champ or at least one Group of 5 champ) as an at-large bid.

However, CFP committee chair Hunter Yurachek shared some comments that provide a small glimmer of hope for the Longhorns to sneak their way into the bracket, something that would require an unexpected change of heart from the committee.

Texas Longhorns Technically Not Dead Yet

Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner runs for yards past Texas A&M Aggies safety Dalton Brooks during the second half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

When asked by ESPN's Rece Davis if teams that are not playing this weekend in their conference championship games can be moved up during Sunday's bracket reveal, Yurachek said that the committee will re-rank the teams as they see fit and that Tuesday's list does not lock in teams, even if they are idle.

"Indeed, idle teams can move following the results of the championship games and how they impact the teams that are around those that play in the championship game, and data such as strength to schedule teams that may be idle. So yes, teams that are idle can move up or down," Yurachek said. " ... Following the championship games, we will re-rank the top 25 teams, and we'll see where they fall."

This means that if the committee unexpectedly forms a different opinion about the Longhorns and suddenly decides to move them above Miami, Texas will an increased chance of sneaking in. However, that is highly unlikely and is a conversation that is instead focused mainly on the placement of No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 12 Miami, two teams that have been directly compared to each other in recent weeks due to their matchup in the season opener.

Hunter Yurachek says idle teams can move up or down, and all teams will be re-ranked following this weekend’s championship games. pic.twitter.com/unV7G6F7c8
— Grant Speaks (@GrantSpeaks1) December 3, 2025

Miami beat Notre Dame, 27-24, but the Hurricanes have been ranked behind the Fighting Irish since the CFP's first rankings due to a pair of losses to Louisville and SMU.

Both teams don't play during conference championship weekend, making it impossible for either to add its resume.

Notre Dame, Miami, and Texas will be watching at home in hopes that the BYU Cougars and Alabama Crimson Tide get blown out in their conference title games, potentially forcing the committee into a tough decision about whether or not to re-rank some of the teams around the bubble.

But for now, the Longhorns can likely start packing their bags for a high-end bowl game to close out the season.