The Texas Longhorns have proven to be a worthy competitor in the SEC, a conference traditionally filled with some of the biggest powerhouses in college football. The CFP Committee released its first ranking of the season, and Steve Sarkisian hopes to see more programs from his conference represented than there were last year.

Teams of the caliber of Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Georgia, Ole Miss, and the Longhorns themselves are among the programs the CFP Committee decided to place within the Top 25. The question many are now asking is: how many of those SEC teams will ultimately earn a ticket to the College Football Playoff?

In a recent conversation with the media, before this ranking was released, Steve Sarkisian addressed the situation and praised his conference above the others, making it clear that he expects it to have a greater presence in this stage than it did last season.

“How the committee handles it, I don’t know, but I know we got Georgia here in two weeks, on the road, it’s going to be a tough game. That’s where our focus is right now. What does the committee does with the teams in our conference, we’ll see. I know our conference is really deep, is really good, probably deserving more than three teams, I know that much. I know the SEC only got three teams last year, which is laughable, quite frankly, but we’ll see what happens this year.”

The CFP Committee’s first ranking

As the College Football regular season slowly approaches its most decisive stretch, the CFP Committee has decided to unveil its first ranking, placing the reigning champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes, at No. 1. The top three are completed by the Indiana Hoosiers in second place and the Texas A&M Aggies in third.

Arch Manning’s Texas Longhorns are ranked No. 11, while Vanderbilt — one of this season’s pleasant surprises — appears at No. 16. The Tennessee Volunteers round out the list, closing the rankings at No. 25.

Climbing the rankings

The Texas Longhorns face a brutal, three-game closing stretch as they fight to improve their standing in the upcoming College Football Playoff rankings. The pivotal run begins with a massive road test against the reigning SEC powerhouse, Georgia.

Following that challenge, Texas returns home for back-to-back rivalry matchups, hosting both Arkansas and then closing out the season at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium against Texas A&M.