After facing three losses, Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Longhorns were nearly kicked out of the postseason appearance. Although the program is out of the college football playoffs, QB Arch Manning has still got one Big Ten rival to lace up against.

The Longhorns are projected to go against the Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl, according to The Big Ten Huddle’s Jon Rhoades.

The expected Big Ten vs. SEC matchup does not come as a surprise, since both are coming off three losses, 9-3. Texas had a challenging schedule over the season, while Michigan faced tough units such as USC, Oklahoma, and the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Cheez-It Bowl features the two elite non-CFP programs in a postseason matchup. Since both the Longhorns and the Wolverines concluded their seasons on a strong note,

The last time Michigan and Texas faced off (in a bowl game) was in the 2005 Rose Bowl. Celebrated QB Vince Young beat the Wolverines in a close 38-37 fashion, earning the MVP honor.

The Cheez-It Bowl will undoubtedly feature a high-stakes clash between SEC and Big Ten powers. Both units boast a stacked defense, featuring a No. 5 (Big Ten) and No. 9 (SEC) ranking. It will be an offensive showdown. While Arch Manning has struggled with inconsistency all season long, Michigan QB Bryce Underwood’s offense has struggled on third downs.

Although the Longhorns likely won’t feature a playoff berth on their resume, they will make the most of the opportunity in the bowl game. While some players might opt out of the bowl game to avoid injuries for the Combine (if they declare for the 2026 Draft). However, the head coach has just one message for them.

“I think every player on our team, whether they’re going to the draft or not, needs to play in this game,” Sarkisian said. “It’s another opportunity to build their resume, to put things on tape that the NFL can lean into, that can help them evaluate them for the draft.”

The matchup will take place on Wednesday, December 31, in Orlando, Florida.

Is the Citrus Bowl the last of Texas vs. Michigan?

Aside from the Citrus Bowl matchup (projected), Texas is set to play Michigan during its 2027 non-conference schedule. However, that seems close enough to get cancelled. The reason points to the Longhorns’ CFP snub. Last season, Texas entered the most competitive conference in college football, along with Oklahoma.

However, tough matchups are what ultimately snuffed out Texas’s playoff hopes. The program faced three shockers against elite Ohio State and Georgia. By that time, Arch Manning faced off against Florida in the Swamp, and the Gators had lost their shine, 1-3. However, a 29-21 shocker put Steve Sarkisian’s playoff hopes at stake.

Although Paul Finebaum had opined that Texas could still make it to the playoffs if it beat Arkansas and the Aggies during the latter stretch of the slate. However, even a 2-loss Miami couldn’t make it to the playoffs, which is a topic in itself that is somewhat controversial. So, Texas has a long way to go. And that’s what Sarkisian is irked about.

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“At the end of the day, now we’re going to nine conference games,” Coach Steve Sarkisian said on Dec. 1. “We’ve got to be mindful of the fact that we’ve played five top-ten ranked teams. The next closest team that’s ranked ahead of us has played two. There’s multiple teams in front of us that have played none.

At that point, if we’re just staring at a record, we’ve got to put ourselves in a better position to get a better record.”

The head coach has shared a possibility that the program might cancel tough non-conference matchups (which also includes Michigan in their future slate) to design an easy future schedule and possibly increase Texas’ chances to make it to the CFP.