It certainly has not been an easy ride for Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns, who were stymied by Ohio State in their season opener and then suffered a brutal loss to Florida in early October.
Since losing in Gainesville, however, Texas has reeled off four straight wins, including impressive victories over Oklahoma and, most recently, Vanderbilt, setting up a showdown with fifth-ranked Georgia after the bye week.
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The Longhorns not only the Bulldogs remaining on their slate, but will also have to face No. 3 Texas A&M in their regular-season finale, so winning out the rest of the way would be tough.
But could a 9-3 record be enough for Manning and Texas to still reach the College Football Playoff? Stewart Mandel of The Athletic thinks it’s a real possibility.
“Yes, I said it: A 9-3 Texas team that adds a top-5 win over Georgia or Texas A&M to a resume that already includes two top 10-15 wins over Oklahoma and Vanderbilt is probably getting in,” Mandel wrote. “The first rankings affirmed that Texas, as of today, would be the first team out. Most of the teams above the Longhorns will lose at least one more game as well, but few will be able to add as big a win as Georgia or A&M. With just one bad loss, at Florida, the Longhorns would have a better resume than last year’s 9-3 Alabama team.”
Notice Mandel qualified his projection by saying that the Longhorns would have to go 9-3 with at least one win over either Georgia or Texas A&M; Texas likely couldn’t lose both games and still get in.
Luckily, with the way the Longhorns have been playing recently, winning at least one of those two contests — while also beating Arkansas on Nov. 22 — is a very distinct possibility.
Manning in particular seems to have come into his own the last couple of weeks, especially last Saturday against Vanderbilt when he went 25-for-33 with 328 yards and three touchdowns.
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Texas entered the season ranked No. 1 overall and had fallen out of the top 25 entirely midway through the campaign but has now jumped to No. 13 after its recent eye-opening stretch.
We’ll see if Manning and Co. can continue their magic when they face Georgia in Athens on Nov. 15.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.