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The Texas Longhorns person precocious to the College Football Playoff successful each of the past 2 seasons.
The Longhorns are erstwhile again projected to marque a tally successful this upcoming season's playoff, but caput manager Steve Sarkisian is doing what helium tin to temper immoderate of those lofty expectations. Sarkisian besides threw acold h2o connected the conception that immoderate squad is crowned arsenic nationalist champions volition decorativeness the play with a cleanable 16-0 record.
"I don't deliberation we'll spot an undefeated champion," during SEC Spring Meetings.
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Head manager Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns speaks during SEC Football Media Days astatine Omni Dallas Hotel connected July 17, 2024 successful Dallas, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Sarkisian pointed to the trouble of maintaining a afloat steadfast roster passim the extended assemblage shot season. "It's truthful hard to enactment steadfast for truthful long. This thought that idiosyncratic is going to spell 16-0 successful assemblage football? If so, enactment a statue up."
The 12-team playoff format debuted past season. After a squad plays its afloat 12-game regular-season slate, they could suffice for their league championship. Under past year's format, league champions from the Power 4 earned a bye. The 13-0 squad would past request to triumph a quarterfinal, semifinal, and title crippled to decorativeness astatine 16-0.
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Sarkisian past recalled the immense differences successful the existent sport's scenery and his clip connected the Southern California coaching unit successful 2003.
"Then we grew into a two-team playoff, and we grew into a four-team playoff, and present we’ve grown into wherever we’re astatine today," helium continued. "I deliberation astatine the extremity of the day, we each conscionable privation the champion teams to person an accidental to vie for a championship. The magnitude of the season, past year, we played 16 games and that was conscionable to get to the semifinals. It would person been 17 to triumph a championship."
Head manager Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns reacts during the 2nd 4th against the Georgia Bulldogs astatine Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium connected October 19, 2024 successful Austin, Texas. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Sarkisian besides addressed the raised expectations Texas and backmost Arch Manning volition look for the 2025 season. Manning saw enactment astatine times past season, but Quinn Ewers' leap to the NFL opened the doorway for him to go a full-time starter.
"Arch is simply a large player, but I anticipation for everybody present that we don’t get excessively acold up of ourselves," Sarkisian said. "Let’s fto this feline spell play this year. Let’s fto him person amusive successful yet getting his accidental arsenic the starting backmost for the Texas Longhorns. It’s been a lifelong imagination for this feline to bash this."
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The Longhorns suffered a 37-31 nonaccomplishment to Washington successful the 2023–24 playoff semifinal. After defeating Clemson successful the archetypal round, Texas survived a double-overtime thriller against Arizona State successful the quarterfinals. But, the Longhorns could not get past the eventual champions — Ohio State — successful the semifinals.
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Chantz Martin is simply a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
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