So long for No. 2 Texas’ hopes for a first-round bye! Steve Sarkisian did a wonderful job leading Texas to the conference championship game as a new SEC member. But the 22-19 OT loss is going to haunt him for quite some time. A win against Kirby Smart would have cemented them as the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. But now, chaos is released. So now, what’s next for this new SEC member?

The dominance that Kirby Smart has over Steve Sarkisian is obvious. Texas got another chance to avenge their first and only regular-season loss to Georgia when they fell 30-15. But the result of Saturday’s SEC Championship game proved that the Longhorns are yet to reach the level of the conference powerhouse. 

In the last game, Texas secured overtime with a 37-yard field goal by kicker Bert Auburn with just 18 seconds left in the Q4. In the first possession of those extra minutes, things looked hopeful for the Longhorns when Auburn scored another field goal to give the Longhorns a 19-16 lead. But Georgia did better than just a field goal on their possession. Thanks to RB Trevor Etienne’s 4-yard run, the Bulldogs capped the final 22-19 result with a touchdown.  

The CFP Committee ranked Sarkisian’s program in the top 2 ahead of the conference weekend with a projection that they’ll defeat Georgia and cling on to their second spot. But with this loss, Texas falls out of the top 4 spots reserved for the best conference winners as the Dawgs snag the No. 2 seed with their second victory over the Longhorns. Still, they’re very much in the mix for the playoffs as one of the seven at-large teams. The only thing that’s confusing right now is where they’ll be seeded.

What seed will Texas hold in the playoffs?

Either No. 6 or No. 7. That’s the best Texas can climb this season when the final rankings are released on Selection Sunday. This will mean that while the top four seeds enjoy a first-round bye, they’ll be hosting the first round, which will either be on December 20 or 21, depending on which seed they get. 

Their final seeding could depend on the outcomes of the remaining conference games. If No. 1 Oregon wins the Big Ten Championship game over Penn State, Texas might get the No. 6 or No. 7 seed. As per the last seeding, Penn State and Notre Dame are the projected fifth and sixth seeds.

Still, there’s a scenario that Texas could jump Notre Dame to be No. 6 as they have a better strength of schedule despite having one loss more than the Fighting Irish. If that’s the case, they’ll face either Alabama or Indiana in the first-round game in two weeks. Let’s let the conference championship games round up, and we’ll have more stuff to talk about.