There's a way for Texas to silence all the questions about its strength of schedule

There’s something unique about Texas as a contender for the Southeastern Conference championship.

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Typically, the participants in the conference championship game for the SEC have been the winners of the West and East divisions. No one would ever mistake any team coming out of the SEC West for a wannabe with a weak schedule, especially in the College Football Playoff era. Similar applied to championship game representatives from the East, especially since Kirby Smart took over the Georgia football program.

But the advent of the CFP has brought around the idea that conferences need to have their two best teams battle at the end of the season rather than division winners. In addition, the arrival of superconferences with 16 (or more) members have brought around unbalanced schedules.

And compared to other SEC title contenders, Texas’ strength of schedule through nine games with an 8-1 record and a 4-1 SEC mark doesn’t match up.

As it stands right now, the Longhorns have the worst strength of schedule in all the SEC, according to ESPN. Every other team save for Tennessee is in the top 35, and the Volunteers are No. 36 at that. Texas is No. 56.

The Longhorns have challenges at Arkansas, versus Kentucky, then ultimately at Texas A&M, and those opponents have Texas with the No. 7 remaining strength of schedule according to ESPN.

But listening to the college football world over the past few days and even the past few weeks, the question continues to ring out: who has Texas played?

The right answer to that question? Well, it doesn’t matter as long as Texas keeps winning.

In the CFP era, every single SEC champion has been ranked within the top 30 of ESPN’s strength of schedule. Of course, some of those numbers include eventual playoff opponents, but those games are just part of larger overall schedules.

The only SEC champions that were not in the top eight of ESPN’s strength of schedule were 2017 Georgia, a team that lost in overtime to the national champion Crimson Tide, and 2018 Alabama, who lost to Clemson in the national finals.

As the College Football Playoff committee, members of that aforementioned college football world, considers resumes and the like, they’ll certainly be aware of Texas’ No. 56 ranking that is subject to change.

Texas has the ability to make that little bit of information not matter if Steve Sarkisian’s team wins out.

In the four-team playoff era, every team that made the field was an at-large selection. Conference champions were not guaranteed spots in the four-team field. Just look at 2023 Florida State, or the matchups in the national title games between Georgia and Alabama as evidence.

While it’s incredibly unlikely the SEC champion would be left out of the field if the four-team playoff were still around, it’s impossible for the winner of the league’s title to be left out of this year’s field.

Texas winning out would render all those questions about the Longhorns’ strength and schedule null and void. Texas could be No. 134 in strength of schedule at the end of the year for all it’s worth. Winning the SEC championship would put them in the 12-team field and in a position of strength for competing for the national title.

Discussion about Texas’ strength of schedule probably would not quiet even if the Longhorns win out. Of course, if Texas stumbles during the regular season, then those questions about the Texas resume would be serious detriments though not impossible obstacles for the Horns to have to overcome.

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All pundits can question Texas’ resume. Those questions won’t register at all if the Longhorns just keep winning based off the current format.