Texas Longhorns’ chances of entering the playoffs are very thin at this point. However, HC Steve Sarkisian is still trying really hard to make his case, even with the team lagging with three losses. Sark, being Sark, is capitalizing on the frustration of the season opener against the Buckeyes, with a stern warning to the committee.

“Why did we even play Ohio State? If we are a 10-2 team right now that played 4 top 10 opponents, we are ranked 6th in the country and not even having this discussion,” Sark said on the Sirius XM college sports radio. “So why the hell am I going to play that game next year?”

He further added, “There’s going to be a network upset if we don’t play that game. Because there would be 15-16 million viewers that would watch that game, but my team and I get no benefit from playing the game.”

There’s no doubt Steve Sarkisian is still licking his wounds from August 30. But even if the committee approves his request, the pressure will land squarely on Texas’s wallet. The contract they signed stipulates that Texas must pay Ohio State a $1 million penalty if they cancel the 2026 game. The home-and-home contract, first signed in August 2014 and updated in May 2018, includes a clause. It imposes financial penalties on either school if they back out without a valid reason. Sark wants to cancel the 2026 Ohio State–Texas matchup, set for September 12 in Austin, because he believes the game hurt Texas’ playoff chances this season more than anything else.

The strength of schedule is central to this debate. Texas sits with three losses, coming from Ohio State, Georgia, and Florida. However, they even had three crucial wins against Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M. So, out of all of them, Ohio State is the only non-conference loss that they faced. If the game at The Shoe didn’t happen, the Longhorns would be sitting at 10-2, with playoff dreams. But that didn’t happen. Another point of debate is that the loss against the Buckeyes was just a one-score loss. “We lost in a one-score game… no one else has been close,” Sark fired back post-A&M upset, per ESPN.

Steve Sarkisian spotlighted Texas as the only squad since 2019 LSU champ to beat three top-10s with two over current CFP top-10s and three vs. top-15s. He had all his points ready to present to the committee. But this tantrum can cost his school a whole million. Does Sarkisian really want to go on with this? Additionally, let’s not forget that this year, the college football playoff committee is also considering the quality of losses.

The quality of losses matters

For one minute, let’s keep aside Texas’ loss to OSU that Steve Sarkisian is crying about so much. What about the other losses? Gut-punch losses to Florida and Georgia turn Steve Sarkisian’s playoff dream into a nightmare. First, that swamp-soaked stunner in Gainesville on Oct. 4. No. Texas dropped 29-21 to a mediocre 4-8 Florida squad that later canned coach Billy Napier. Arch Manning chucks a pick in Gator territory late. The quarterback got sacked six times! And the Horns’ D misses tackles like it was optional.

Analysts roast it as Texas’ ugliest L. Then, the Athens massacre on Nov. 15. Georgia wallops Texas 35-10. The Bulldogs legit outscored the Longhorns 21-0 in the fourth behind Gunner Stockton’s five TDs. Manning airs 251 yards but eats a strip-sack. Horns tried to upgrade the score line to 14-10 before crumbling on turnovers and failed red-zone downs. Why the playoff poison? CFP committee obsesses over quality losses.

If we put this into perspective, no one would even expect a loss from you if you were playing against Florida this season. Yeah they were so bad. Three total losses bring down your odds to 11% per ESPN. But a loss to the Gators and a blowout against Georgia will bring it down even more.