Will Texas Football Find its Way into the First College Football Playoff Rankings?

Tonight, the College Football Playoff committee will release its first rankings for this season's playoff field.

With the news just hours away, five SEC teams are projected to make the 12-team cut, including the Texas Longhorns.

According to a CBS Sports projection, the Longhorns could enter the college football playoffs as the tenth-ranked team in the field.

Where Texas Could Fall in the College Football Playoffs

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning throws a pass during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Texas currently stands at 7-2 on the season, with a 4-1 record in conference play, and has begun to pick up steam as of late. After opening SEC play with a loss to Florida, the team has now won four straight, including two top ten wins over formerly ranked No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 9 Vanderbilt.

The team's only losses have been the season opener to now-top-ranked Ohio State in Columbus and a matchup against the Gators in Gainesville. With two big wins and some understandable losses, perhaps Texas's resume is better than most of the field.

It's not just the games Texas has already played in this season that provide the team some strength in its potential playoff bid, but the team's remaining schedule as well. The Longhorns are still set to face No. 5 Georgia and No. 3 Texas A&M to finish out the season.

Georgia is currently 7-1 on the season and 5-1 in conference play, while Texas A&M is currently undefeated. If Texas can pull off a win against at least one of these opponents, then their resume would hold three top ten wins and possibly three losses, but against difficult opponents in some of the most hostile environments in college football.

The other SEC teams included in the top-12 CFP projections include the Bulldogs, the Aggies, Ole Miss and Alabama. The Crimson Tide came in projected as the No. 2-ranked team, Texas A&M the No. 4 team, Georgia the No. 5 and Ole Miss the No. 6. Though Texas finds itself on the cusp of the top-12, if the team can succeed in the coming weeks, it could easily climb the list.

Currently, the Longhorns have a bye as they gear up to travel to Athens to take on the Bulldogs in yet another away game this season. With one of the more difficult away schedules in college football, that is certainly a factor the committee could consider when deciding the rankings.

With a week off, Texas has a chance to rest and recover as the team prepares for the remainder of the season.