Steve Sarkisian's Bold SEC Playoff Claim About Texas Raises Questions About USC

Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian’s playoff plea after beating No. 3 Texas A&M highlights the SEC bias that could push three-loss No. 16 Texas ahead of the No. 17 USC Trojans, despite the Trojans owning a comparable and cleaner resume.

Nov 15, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks on in the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The College Football Playoff selection committee insists it evaluates resumes, not conference logos. But if you listened closely to Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian after the No. 16 Longhorns defeated the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies, it became clear the SEC brand still carries more weight than results. And that should concern the No. 17 USC Trojans.

Sark’s Pitch: SEC Schedules Should Override Losses

Nov 22, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian pauses during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Sarkisian’s program is now 9-3, yet he made a forceful public case that his three-loss team “deserves” a College Football Playoff spot. That word deserves was doing heavy lifting.

“Texas A&M is undefeated, No. 3 in the country. A lot of the pundits think they’re the No. 1 team. We just beat them by 10,” Sarkisian said postgame. “If you really look at the body of work, and you look at the Southeastern Conference and what we go through every week, you look at the non-conference schedule we played, to go to Ohio State in Week 1 and lose by seven when we outgained them by nearly 200 yards, we got a really good football team.”

He continued by arguing it would be “a disservice to our sport” if Texas does not reach the playoff because they scheduled a top non-conference opponent. His implication was straightforward: losses inside the SEC should be viewed differently than losses in other leagues. That argument is exactly what disadvantages USC.

USC’s Resume Is Comparable But Treated Differently

Nov 7, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The No. 17 USC Trojans are 8-3 with wins over the No. 15 Michigan Wolverines and the Iowa Hawkeyes, who were ranked No. 21 at the time of the matchup. Their three losses came against Illinois, which is now 7-4, and two top-ten opponents in the No. 6 Oregon Ducks and the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In those defeats, USC lost by an average of nine points.

That is a clean, competitive resume with no embarrassing losses and no real blowouts. Texas cannot say the same. The No. 16 Longhorns lost at home to the Florida Gators, who entered that game with a 1-3 record and fired head coach Billy Napier two weeks later. Yet Texas still sits ahead of USC in the newest College Football Playoff ranking. SEC affiliation has a way of cushioning the fall.

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This Is Where SEC Bias Becomes Obvious

Oct 18, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is interviewed by the media after the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Sarkisian’s comments did not create the SEC bias. They merely exposed it. He argued that Texas should not be punished for losing a non-conference matchup to the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes. But using that same logic, USC should not be punished for facing the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the road, who are an independent.

He argued that playing inside the SEC elevates a resume. Yet the current CFP projection includes five SEC teams while the Big Ten has only three teams in the projected bracket, including the top-two teams in the Buckeyes and the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers.

He argued that winning tough conference games proves playoff worthiness. But the USC Trojans were one or two plays away from being undefeated, and that level of competitiveness somehow receives less credit because it occurred in the Big Ten, not the SEC. The message is hard to ignore. SEC losses are treated as understandable. Everyone else’s losses are treated as disqualifying.

Why USC Should Be Paying Attention

Sep 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Michigan State Spartans during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

If Sarkisian’s argument carries weight with the committee, USC faces an uphill battle. The Trojans have a resume that mirrors Texas statistically and exceeds it in terms of consistency, yet the national narrative prioritizes the SEC label over the actual season results. Texas is publicly lobbying for special consideration. USC is simply playing football.

The danger is that perception, not performance, determines playoff positioning. And Sarkisian’s comments show exactly how far the Trojans still must push against college football’s most protected league to earn the respect they have already earned on the field.