Why the College Football Playoff selection committee ranked Texas No. 5

After every rankings release by the College Football Playoff selection committee, CFP executive director Rich Clark and selection committee chair (and Michigan athletics director) Warde Manuel host a conference call with members of the media. Those media members on the call ask Manuel why his committee ranked teams the way they did, including the Texas Longhorns at No. 5.

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Manuel said Tuesday the committee met for the first time yesterday with creating a top 25 as the chief agenda item. Questions from media after the release about BYU, Indiana, Notre Dame, Alabama, and the top four of No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia, and No. 4 Miami were at the forefront of discussion.

But at No. 5, Manuel and his committee placed Texas. Because of the structure of the CFP, that would have slotted Texas as the No. 6 seed in the 12-team bracket and created a potential first-round matchup with the No. 11 seed Alabama Crimson Tide in Austin.

Why was Texas No. 5? Or as said by the reporter who asked the question on Tuesday night…

“Could you evaluate the Longhorns for me? Was their eye test probably the most impressive thing that got them up to No. 5, and is it a fragile hold because they don’t have big statement wins over top 25 teams?“

“Well, I think Texas has looked good all year in terms of how they have played,” Manuel said. “They have won on the road at Michigan and went to Vanderbilt and won. As we’ve seen, Vanderbilt is a very good team this year. (Texas’) only loss at home was to No. 3 Georgia. We don’t look at it as being fragile or not. We are going to judge each week with a clean sheet and approach it, and we look forward to watching how Texas plays as the season progresses.”

The reporter likely had a view of the rankings in mind when asking his question. Texas has played just one team in the top 25 in No. 3 Georgia and lost at home 30-15 to the Bulldogs. Manuel praised Georgia for that victory last night.

“The committee was impressed with their win at Texas, the strength of their defense, and they too have played a tough schedule,” Manuel said.

However, Texas does play Texas A&M later in the season. That game presents another opportunity for the Longhorns to grab a ranked win. The two-loss Aggies were ranked No. 14 by the committee and were one of the eight teams from the Southeastern Conference in the top 25.

One notable absence from the top 25 was Vanderbilt, a team with two tough losses including one to Georgia State but also one with a win over No. 11-ranked Alabama and also top 25 rankings in the Coaches and AP Polls.

Manuel praised Texas for beating the Commodores, something that could be an indication the committee liked but didn’t love Vanderbilt enough to put it in the top 25.

That’s something also indicated by this statement from Manuel.

“We’re still looking at 20 plus teams potentially that have a shot to get into the playoff,” Manuel said.

The teams ahead of Texas are stout. No 1. Oregon was praised by Manuel for “their win against Ohio State and their 5-0 record against teams with winning records.”

No. 2 Ohio State earned those honors from the committee for “an impressive win on the road against a strong Penn State team and played No. 1 Oregon down to the wire in Eugene. They’ve had a good strength of schedule, and they’re 5-1 against teams with winning records” according to Manuel.

Georgia’s aforementioned win at Texas and one-loss record had it at No. 3.

The No. 4 Miami Hurricanes’ 9-0 record and what Manuel described as “offensive explosiveness” has them in the No. 4 spot.

All this will twist and turn over the course of the remainder of the season. Texas could even render all this rankings discussion moot by winning out, earning a spot in the SEC Championship Game, and winning the league in its first year as a member. That victory would bring with it a first-round bye.

But for now, the eight or nine games of data teams have available is what determines the rankings for the first ever 12-team College Football Playoff.

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“I walked you through our top 4, but of course we go deeper than that,” Manuel said. “Every ranking matters, whether it’s top 4, top 12 or top 25.”