History took place this past season when the first two losses teams were made into the field as the College Football playoffs expanded from four to 12 teams. And while it appears to be set up in a new and normal with an expanded field, SEC network personality Paul Finebaum believes that more history will be made next season.
In Friday’s edition of “Paul Finebaum Show,” SEC Network Personality suggested there are two teams that can get through the nine-week regular season and make the playoffs. Interestingly, these two teams were the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns.
“Take Ohio or Texas,” Feinbaum said. “Both play each other to start the year, so we can get in with nine (wins).”
As a rule, the claim is not completely outrageous. It seems likely that nine winning teams will eventually create the field. However, as we saw last season, the 11-win SMU team, which lost the ACC Championship to Clemson, won one of the final spots on the field with a pair of Alabama and Ole Miss nine-win SEC teams.
Now, just because one committee did not punish a team like SMU for losing a conference championship doesn’t mean another committee won’t award a team like Alabama or Ole Miss in the future.
But the conversation about Texas, which could potentially lose three games on this season’s schedule, is a completely different story. If they lose to the Buckeyes in the season opener, they will need to lose twice more to fit this scenario. So where will they come?
Now, many point to the late-season road game against Georgia. The Bulldogs made the longhorn better in two matchups last season. But on paper, at this point, Texas appears to be a favorite of that game, even if it’s on the road.
The next most challenging game will be in the Cotton Bowl and Texas A&M, even on the roads with Oklahoma and Texas A&M and Florida. Losing a rival game is out of the question, especially in college football these days.
However, the three lost seasons look like a disappointment as the Longhorns are considered the first team in the preseason. But if Finebaum is right and the Longhorns make the playoffs anyway, they have the opportunity to turn it around with a potential national championship run.
