‘Texas is a playoff team if they finish 9-3’: Paul Finebaum makes bold claim about Arch Manning and Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns have had an up-and-down season, and their College Football Playoff hopes looked shaky after back-to-back losses earlier this month. But after beating Ole Miss on Saturday night, at least one prominent voice believes they’re in better shape than people think.

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum said this weekend that Texas should be a playoff team even if it finishes the regular season 9-3. Finebaum admitted that the Longhorns are “a flawed team,” but pointed to their résumé as a big reason why they deserve a spot.

Texas’ Roller-Coaster Season

Texas got off to a strong start to the season with a 24-23 win over then-No. 1 Ohio State back in September and a 20-17 win at Tennessee after that. But the Longhorns then lost back-to-back games to Oklahoma and Florida, both by a score of 27-24 with Arch Manning having crucial turnovers at the end of both games.

Those losses led to plenty of questions about the team’s quarterback play, and Texas reportedly began preparing for a potential change after head coach Steve Sarkisian didn’t rule out benching Manning. But Manning responded with three total touchdowns in Saturday’s 34-27 win over No. 7 Ole Miss.

The Longhorns are now 5-2, but they took a big hit in the process. Star left tackle Trevor Goosby will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, while star wide receiver Cam Coleman suffered what appeared to be a potentially serious injury as well. The Longhorns are also still without star defensive end Colin Simmons

Texas still has five regular-season games left, hosting Mississippi State and Arkansas, with road trips to Missouri, LSU, and Texas A&M. Needless to say, the path ahead is still not easy.

‘A Legitimate 9-3 Team’

Appearing on The Matt Barrie Show, Finebaum made his case for the Longhorns.

“Texas is a playoff team if they finish 9-3,” Finebaum said, via The Matt Barrie Show. He noted that “they have a win in Tennessee, they beat Ohio State, and they won that game last night.”

Finebaum pointed to Texas’ upcoming trip to LSU as a game that could shape the playoff picture.

“If you’re looking for carnage, park yourself in Baton Rouge at Tiger Stadium because that’s where Alabama and Texas will next visit in terms of these monster games, and much will be determined,” Finebaum said.

But even if the Longhorns lose that one, Finebaum still thinks they should be in.

“But I don’t know why Texas isn’t a legitimate 9-3 team, even if it loses to LSU,” he said. “We’re talking about a really incredible schedule, and I realize there’s a couple more games, and their schedule could not be weirder the way they play all these home games and then go on the road for the end of the season.”

And despite the team’s issues, Finebaum would still take the Longhorns over a lot of other contenders.

“It is a flawed team, but I’ll take it against a lot of the stuff I’ve seen around college football, and I dare say you will too,” Finebaum said.

We’ll have to see what ultimately happens, but based on the upsets throughout college football in the past few weeks, there’s probably a real chance that Texas could make the field with three losses.

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