Greg McElroy believes Texas has not earned its College Football Playoff ranking

The College Football Playoff selection committee ranked Texas No. 3 after Week 12’s slate. However, not everybody agrees with ranking the Longhorns so high.

ESPN’s Greg McElroy was critical of the CFP’s decision to keep the Longhorns so high given that they don’t have a victory over any team in the current rankings. They also have a loss to No. 10 Georgia at home, leading McElroy to break down why he’s opposed to having the Longhorns so high.

“I think Texas is in a position right now where they’re No. 3 in the country, according to College Football Playoff committee, but if you really look at their resume, they haven’t really earned that spot that’s almost exclusively on the eye test,” McElroy said. “And if they were to win against Kentucky this week, which is expected and then lose to [Texas] A&M next week, their best win might very well be a 6-6 Vanderbilt team.”

McElroy’s arguement comes as the Longhorns put up just 20 points against the five-loss Arkansas Razorbacks. Quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for two touchdowns and Texas rushed for 139 yards as they left Fayetteville victorious.

The week prior, however, looked like the high-flying Longhorns that were around during the first six games of the season. Defeating Florida 49-17 during Week 12, Ewers threw for five touchdown passes and 333 yards as Texas put up 562 yards of total offense against the short-handed Gators.

“Why don’t I get that version of Texas on offense every week?” McElroy asked regarding the Florida win. “You have a veteran offense line. You’ve got really talented and a deep group of wide receivers and weapons. Your tight end is very difficult to cover and is a matchup problem. You have a run game that can get complex in a hurry and an RPO and a system that can make it very difficult on opposing defenses.

“Why is it that we’re playing sideline to sideline so much? Why don’t we take the top off the defense? Why don’t we throw it down field? … Like this whole sideline to sideline, five yards down the field, catch, run, high percentage, efficient, stay Ahead of the chains. We’re gonna play analytics. You got four downs to get it in plus territory. Like, to me, that’s great. It works, it wins, but it’s boring.”

Texas’ matchup against a Kentucky team that just won its first game (against an FCS opponent) since September last week is the perfect opportunity to break out a huge offensive performance before the seaosn finale against Texas A&M.

However, Kentucky’s defense has held teams to under 20 points six times this season, including an early Week 3 matchup against Georgia. The Bulldogs, which are the only blemish on Texas’ schedule, and escaped Lexington with a 13-12 win.

Kickoff between the Longhorns and Wildcats is set for 3:30 p.m. ET live on ABC.