Even The Texas Governor Is Getting Involved In CFB Playoff Lobbying

It's that time of year again. The time of year when SEC fans, coaches, and commentators absolutely lose their minds in an attempt to get their favorite teams into the College Football Playoff.

The campaign is off to a flying start in 2025, with Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Clark Lea essentially saying, inaccurately, that SEC teams should get priority over other conferences. 

RELATED: SEC Coach Says Other Conferences Should Be Denied CFB Playoff Spots

Steve Sarkisian, the head coach of the Texas Longhorns, went as far as worrying about the sanctity and quality of the sport. Leaving a 9-3 Texas team out of the 12-team field, would be a "disservice" to college football as a whole. Just imagine, the sport being stuck with a disservice by leaving out a team with three losses, including one to a 4-8 Florida Gators team that fired its coach.

But it's one thing for coaches, boosters, and media networks who rhyme with SHMESPN to promote SEC teams for the College Football Playoff. It's another for politicians to get involved. And Texas Gov. Greg Abbott just did.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Greg Abbott Wants Texas In CFB Playoff Field

On Monday night, Abbott posted on X a screenshot of the College Football Playoff Principles. These principles are meant to determine how the committee selects teams to make the field, including:

• Strength of schedule
• Head-to-head competition
• Comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory)
• Other relevant factors such as the unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team's performance during the season or will likely affect its postseason performance

Abbott then added his pitch to get the Longhorns into the field: "Texas is at the top of these criteria more than any team on the bubble."

Then, on Tuesday, he went after Alabama for its scheduling changes, asking "CFP, you watching this?"

As great as Abbott is, unfortunately for him and Texas, he's wrong about Texas having the best resume of the bubble teams. Here's a list of bubble playoff teams and where they rank in SP+, one of the best advanced analytics ranking systems.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
9. Miami Hurricanes
10. Utah Utes
11. Vanderbilt Commodores
13. Oklahoma Sooners
14. BYU Cougars
22. Texas 

What about using resume rankings, instead of forward-looking metrics?

7. Notre Dame
9. BYU
11. Miami
12. Utah
14. Vanderbilt
16. Oklahoma
20. Texas

They're last. Of seven teams in the back half of the playoff pool or on the bubble, the Longhorns are last in several key metrics. The Longhorns do have a head-to-head advantage over Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, but Miami easily beat Florida 26-7, while Texas lost to the Gators 29-21. Notre Dame and Texas both beat Arkansas, but the Irish won 56-13 on the road, while Texas won 52-37 at home. Margin of victory isn't a determining factor, but again, the Longhorns were less than impressive.

No criticism of Abbott for trying, but unfortunately for him, he doesn't have the best case.