Why Team Moral Has Not Dwindled for Texas Longhorns After Georgia Loss

Heading into the game against the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs, the Texas Longhorns knew that the path to the College Football Playoff was clear: win out and they are locks.

After suffering a crushing defeat to coach Kirby Smart and his Bulldogs, Texas now has a similar goal: win out and it has a chance. If the Longhorns win out with a convincing win over No. 3 Texas A&M to close out the season, they will have a shot at becoming the first three-loss team to make the College Football Playoff, and the players know that.

Following their 35-10 loss, Texas Longhorns players spoke to the media and seemed unshaken in their belief in their team.

Arch Manning and Colin Simmons ‘still can take over‘

Texas Longhorns defensive end Colin Simmons (1) tackles Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) in the second half at Sanford Stadium. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Pretty early on in the game, the Texas Longhorns seemed like they were out of it before climbing back to cut the Georgia lead to four points. In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs flipped a switch and poured it on the Longhorns, putting the game out of reach.

After the game, Texas quarterback Arch Manning addressed the elephant in the room regarding the team’s College Football Playoff chances and revealed the team is only concerned with what it can control going forward.

“We’re just going to go do our best to be Arkansas,” Manning said after the loss. “[We have to] learn from it. Look in the mirror. ‘How can you get better?’ You know, that's the thing about college football, you've got a game next week. So learn, hopefully get better, and move forward.”

At the end of the day, the College Football Playoff is all about getting hot at the right time. If the Longhorns can string together some dominant wins, it will be hard to deny them. At the same time, a loss as devastating as the one to Georgia makes the team do some reflecting.

“It's very humbling,” Collin Simmons said. “But, you know, we gotta get back to work at the end of the day, like, you know, you can't soak in on the past. Just move forward.“

However, Simmons is not changing his tune regarding the Longhorns’ ability to make a splash should they make the College Football Playoff.

“I got the utmost confidence in my team,” Simmons said. “I feel like we still can take over.“

Texas will find out how its loss will change the College Football Playoff rankings when they come out on Tuesday night.