Steve Sarkisian’s Texas squad closed the regular season with a decisive 27-17 win over Texas A&M, handing the Aggies their first loss and ending their SEC title hopes. Even so, the Longhorns remain on the CFP bubble with three losses. Sarkisian has already made his case for Texas, but when the latest AP poll didn’t rank them where he believed they should be, he fired a pointed shot at the voters.

“We’ve played five top 10-ranked teams, and we’ve beaten three of them,” said Sarkisian on his Monday appearance on SEC This Morning. “There are teams that are ranked in front of us that haven’t played any top 10-ranked teams.

“And so my point to everybody is, is this about what your record is at the end, or is this about beating quality teams and showing how good of a team you really are by beating quality teams on the field? Or is it don’t play good teams, put up a bunch of yards, put up a bunch of points, and make it look good.”

Now, in the AP poll, Texas sits at No. 14, behind No. 12 Miami. While Sarkisian has turned up the volume in his push to get Texas into the big dance, his pointed jab seemed aimed directly at Miami for running up the score on Pitt last weekend, which gave the Hurricanes a 10-2 record and a 38-7 victory. Here, Sarkisian took a few subtle shots at Miami, plus the committee.

“You know, throw, throw, fade, and route touchdowns with 38 seconds to go, when you’re head 31 to seven, set the score looks better,” said the Texas HC.  “So is the committee really watching the games, or are they just looking at a stat sheet at the end of the game to say, Oh, well, they won by this many points. They must have played really well.”

Now, while Miami sits at No. 12 in the CFP and could rise after its season-ending win, Sarkisian, who sits at No. 16, is doing everything he can to secure Texas a playoff spot, which is why he even hinted that the committee should focus on the strength of the schedule.

Miami is clawing for one of those coveted final playoff spots with just two losses, but its resume is light on marquee wins; it’s only faced a few ranked teams, like Notre Dame and Pitt. On the flip side, Texas boasts only nine wins, but they have three top-15 victories over Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M. With that, while Texas’s resume looks sharp, losses still stung.

Two of their three losses came against elite opponents like OSU and Georgia, leaving just one loss against Florida that could really hurt their playoff case. There’s still a chance Texas could climb to No. 12 after that win against A&M, although it’s rare for a three-loss team to make the playoff. But Clemson pulled it off last season.

Now, Sarkisian is going all in, highlighting Texas’s demanding schedule to the CFP committee. But before that, the Texas HC had already sent a message to the committee.

Steve Sarkisian’s message to the CFP committee

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian just fired a warning shot at the CFP committee. Facing OSU in Week 1 and keeping the game close, then dispatching a top rival like A&M, the HC believes his Longhorns deserve a playoff spot, even without a 10-win season. Here, Sarkisian hinted at reviewing their schedule and the games they played this season.

“If you really look at the body of work,” Sarkisian told Molly McGrath, “look at the SEC grind, the nonconference schedule — we went to Ohio State and lost by 7, outgaining them by nearly 200 yards. We’ve got a really good football team. It’d be a disservice to our sport if this team isn’t in the playoffs. Is college football about avoiding challenges to pad records? Or putting the best teams in the playoffs? We’re one of the best teams.”

With a 9-3 record, Texas has missed its chance at the SEC title. But their resume still demands attention, featuring five games against top-ranked teams. If the committee takes that into account, it could earn the Longhorns a spot. Now we’ll see what the final rankings reveal.