The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2026 season were released on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Miami leads the pack, followed by Georgia, Utah, Indiana and Alabama rounding out the top five. Kentucky is No. 6, while Texas is No. 7.

MORE: First College Football Playoff top 25 rankings of 2026 released

Texas has had an up-and-down season, with wins over Ohio State, Tennessee and Ole Miss, but losses to Oklahoma and Florida. The program has another massive game Saturday against No. 18 Missouri, which is still in the race to make the CFP.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith saw Texas’ ranking and questioned it on Wednesday.

“Jordan [Rodgers], I can’t believe what I just heard you say. I understand the quality of their wins. What about the quality of their losses? You lost to two unranked teams, Florida and Oklahoma,” Smith said on “First Take.” “Come on, Jordan. Both unranked? I don’t have a problem with them being in the top 12 to 15. Number seven? With two losses to unranked teams on your schedule? The Red River Rivalry is a big, big deal. You got a quarterback that blew it, that threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter. And then the game against Florida, the strip-sack that ended that game. You almost blew the lead against Ole Miss after being up 20-plus. You got to be kidding me.”

“I understand the quality of their wins, what about the quality of their losses.”@stephenasmith dives into whether the Texas Longhorns deserve to be in the CFP 👀 pic.twitter.com/oLXhtO7DiD

— First Take (@FirstTake) November 4, 2026

Texas’ remaining schedule

Texas will have a chance to make Smith eat his words, despite his strong points.

The Longhorns will play Missouri and No. 14 LSU in its next two games before ending the season with Arkansas and Texas A&M. If the Longhorns win out, their resume will look even better, and they may be more worthy of a top-10 spot, at least to Smith.

Kickoff for Saturday’s Texas-Missouri game will be at noon ET on ESPN.

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Source: Yahoo Sports