Considering the abuse third-ranked Texas is taking these days for a schedule in which its most impressive win is Vanderbilt, you’d think the Longhorns were still back in the Big 12 instead of the big, bad DRY.

But if that’s your view – and you won’t necessarily have a debate here – know this:

THE Longhorns have the toughest road remaining of any SEC team still in the running, and not by a little.

From Texas, Alabama (seventh in Tuesday’s standings), Ole Miss (ninth), Georgia (10th) and Tennessee (11th), only the Longhorns still have a ranked team on their schedule. This game, of course, is the long-awaited resumption of a rivalry against 15th-ranked Texas A&M at Kyle Field.

Judging by media questions posed Tuesday to Warde Manuel, chairman of the CFP committee, Kirby Smart’s complaints last week about the committee’s priorities appear to have had an impact. One, in particular, highlighted the seven-place gap between Texas and Georgia despite the Bulldogs’ win in Austin and a much busier schedule overall.

Manuel acknowledged Georgia’s loss to Texas — perhaps the best road win by any school this season — but called the Longhorns “a very strong team” deserving of their third-place finish. He cited their top five defenses and credited Quinn Ewers for leading “one of the best passing attacks in the country.”

“There’s nothing against Georgia,” he said. “We will continue to monitor both teams and see how it goes in the coming weeks.”

Best guess: All four SEC teams in the current top 12 will win their remaining regular-season games, in which case a tiebreaker would decide Texas’ opponent in the conference title game.

A five-way tie between A&M, Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee would come down to their opponents’ cumulative SEC winning percentage.

The winner?

Alabama.

No matter what happens from here on, Texas’ playoff path is about to get a lot scarier.

Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN

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