When it comes to what-ifs and hypotheticals, no one is better at them in college football than the SEC. The conference's Media Days have been yet another example of that.
Texas didn't make the College Football Playoff last season after going 9-3 during the regular season. Still, Longhorns standout defensive end Colin Simmons claims that the Longhorns would have won the national championship if they were one of 12 teams in the CFP.
“Hell yeah, of course,” he told ESPN's David Hale on Thursday. “If we would've made the playoffs, I definitely feel like that chip that we had on our shoulders, we would have took it, and we would've ran with it.”
Simmons wasn't the only Longhorn who discussed the postseason, even though Texas missed the CFP. Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian claims that Texas' strength of schedule – specifically, playing Ohio State and losing to the Buckeyes – was the reason the Longhorns didn't make the CFP.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian talks about being left out of the CFP at 9-3 last season and about their non-conference matchup with Ohio State.
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) July 23, 2026
“The committee’s got to show us what happens now, and what’s the value that they’re placing on strength of schedule. Are we ever… pic.twitter.com/nIWHo9d0pc
"If we beat Ohio State (last year), we're surely in a much better place for the playoffs," Sarkisian said on Thursday. "If I don't play Ohio State and play Jones Jr. High, we're 10-2, and our losses are to Georgia and Florida – we're a playoff team.
“The committee’s got to show us what happens now, and what’s the value that they’re placing on the strength of schedule. Are we ever going to let a 9-3 team in as an at-large? We’ll find out.”
Would Texas have made the CFP at 10-2 if it had played a much lesser opponent than Ohio State in the season opener? Sure, but the Longhorns also lost to a 4-8 Florida team. If the Longhorns beat the Gators, they would've made the CFP as an at-large bid, regardless of the loss against OSU.
Before the 2025 season opener in Columbus, Simmons posted a picture to his Instagram story that said he was "ready to sack" Julian Sayin in the quarterback's first collegiate start. He also called Ohio State starting offensive lineman Phillip Daniels "trash" during the game, and proceeded to get a 15-yard penalty for knocking Daniels' helmet off on the next play.
In Ohio State's win over Texas last season, Simmons finished with just two tackles, zero sacks and zero tackles for loss. In June, Simmons told On3’s Pete Nakos that he’s looking forward to Texas’ rematch with Ohio State in Austin this September, saying “there’s business to be taken care of.”
Maybe it's time for Texas to prove it on the field rather than talking about a bunch of hypotheticals before, during and after games.
