Everyone acting like the 12-team playoff is going to make the regular season meaningless is wrong. Texas is sitting in a spot where their schedule actually matters more than ever for seeding. The Longhorns finished 2025 ranked 6th in SP+ and still ended up on the outside looking in at the top four. That is the difference between playing a 1-seed Georgia in Atlanta or hosting a first-round game at DKR. The SEC schedule is brutal enough that EVERY slip matters.
Texas went 10-2 last season with a minus-4 turnover margin and still almost made the field. Clean that up to even neutral and the Longhorns are a top-3 seed in 2026. The math is simple. The roster is talented enough. It comes down to execution in the games that actually move the needle.