**Was Tonight the Final Nail in the Coffin for the University of Texas Longhorns’ 2025 Season?**
Time will tell, but after a 35-10 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday night, the Longhorns are no longer in the driver’s seat. Entering Week 12, Texas was ranked 10th in the nation, holding a 7-2 record. Their losses included a tough defeat to the Florida Gators in Gainesville and a hard-fought Week 1 loss to the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
Despite that, the Longhorns still have a case to be made. They finish the season with three SEC games, including matchups against Georgia and Texas A&M, both ranked inside the top five. This context makes the loss to Georgia somewhat more forgivable.
> “Texas is still on the bubble even though it could appear to be in a safer spot this week,” wrote ESPN’s Heather Dinich prior to the loss at Georgia.
> “If Texas finishes as a three-loss team, it’s conceivable it could be ranked in the top 12 but would likely face a similar situation to Alabama last year.”
Finishing with just three losses won’t be easy. The Longhorns must next beat a coach-less Arkansas in Austin, then knock off the undefeated Texas A&M Aggies in the final game of the season.
There is some silver lining, as Dinich notes while labeling Texas her “last team in” the playoff conversation.
> “With the ACC and Group of 5 champions currently outside of the committee’s top 12, it looks like the No. 11 and No. 12-ranked teams would be excluded and that’s probably the ceiling for a three-loss Texas team,” Dinich concludes.
**Texas Officially Eliminated From SEC Contention**
Although their playoff hopes aren’t officially dead, their SEC title hopes are. The Longhorns are still searching for their first conference championship since joining the SEC last year. However, with two losses in conference play, they are now officially eliminated from contention.
As of the end of Week 12, only four teams remain alive in the SEC: undefeated Texas A&M, one-loss Alabama, one-loss Georgia, and one-loss Ole Miss. Texas was Georgia’s last conference opponent, while Alabama must beat their bitter rival Auburn to secure their spot. Ole Miss finds itself on the outside looking in due to a strength of schedule tiebreaker favoring Alabama.
**The Silver Lining for the Longhorns**
The silver lining for Texas is that they lost early in the tough stretch. It would have been a sensational season had Texas ended November with two top-five victories, but that didn’t happen.
If the Longhorns can upset the higher-ranked Texas A&M Aggies, handing them their only loss — and doing it in the final week of the season — it would create a compelling case for the final playoff bid. Had Texas beaten Georgia but lost to A&M, their resume might be slightly weaker.
The Longhorns always had to win one of these two critical games, and if they can right the ship, at least they lost the right one.
https://heavy.com/sports/college-football/texas-longhorns/texas-path-to-playoffs-loss-georgia/