What bowl game is Texas football going to? Latest updates, projections for Longhorns

UPDATE: Texas reaches CFP as No. 3 seed, will face Washington

There are four College Football Playoff spots that will be doled out on Sunday. No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Washington and No. 4 Florida State all won close conference championship games this weekend to improve to 13-0, knowing that no undefeated Power Five team as ever not received a CFP invitation.

That leaves three 12-1 teams — No. 1 Georgia, No. 7 Texas and No. 8 Alabama. The Bulldogs lost Saturday to Bama, which was beaten by Texas in September. The Longhorns and Crimson Tide won conference championships while Georgia, the two-time defending national champion, didn't. No. 5 Oregon has two losses and No. 6 Ohio State didn't play for a conference title. And the Seminoles, who were down to their third-string quarterback in Saturday night's win over Louisville, are undefeated but not on solid ground.

On Saturday, after his team's 49-21 win over Oklahoma State, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and players laid out their case for a CFP spot. "Put the best teams in," running back Keilan Robinson said. "I mean, put us in and you'll find out," wide receiver Jordan Whittington said.

Florida State, Georgia, Texas and Alabama each can make their cases. The CFP field will be revealed at 11 a.m. Until then, we have our best guesses:

USA Today: Texas and Alabama

USA Today's Paul Myerberg likes Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama.

The odd teams out are 13-0 Florida State ("They just got it done all season, and as a reward could play in the Orange Bowl instead of the semifinals") and Georgia ("The dynasty isn't going anywhere."

CBSSports: Texas and Florida State

Jerry Palm of CBSSports gives the Longhorns and Seminoles the edge to join Michigan and Washington in the final four. His two Jan. 1 semifinals pit Michigan and Texas in the Sugar Bowl and Washington and Florida State in the Rose Bowl. See what he did there? No SEC teams. Alabama ends up in the Orange Bowl in his forecast. "The SEC has sent at least one team to every playoff since the event's inception; however, that is trivia, not criteria," he wrote.

Dallas Morning News: Texas and Alabama

Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News has Michigan and Washington as easy picks, and likes Texas and Alabama as the final two based on their wins Saturday: the Longhorns blew out Oklahoma State and have looked dominant the past two weeks, while the Crimson Tide have won 11 straight and just beat the No. 1 team in the country.

Florida State's weak schedule and quarterback problems, Ohio State's lack of a 13th data point and Oregon's second loss all take them out of his CFP board.

Action Network: Texas and Alabama

The Action Network has Washington and Texas meeting in a bowl game for the second straight year. But instead of the Alamo Bowl, the Sugar Bowl is the setting for this hypothetical rematch. College football insider Brett McMurphy is projecting a Rose Bowl showdown between Michigan and Alabama for the other semifinal.

How confident in these projections is McMurphy? On a scale of 10, McMurphy gave himself a 7.2.

The Athletic: Alabama and Florida State

The Athletic writer Stewart Mandel writes that he has participated before in a mock selection that the CFP committee does for media members. He believes the committee will favor Florida State's undefeated record and Alabama's overall résumé over a list of Texas accomplishments that includes a 34-24 win in Tuscaloosa earlier this season.

But not everyone at The Athletic agrees. David Ubben argues that on-field results have to matter and that Florida State and Texas need to be the last two teams in the playoff field. Sorry, SEC.

ESPN: Texas and Alabama

ESPN's Heather Dinich writes that the committee may find it hard to leapfrog Alabama over Texas since the Longhorns have been ranked higher than the Crimson Tide in all the ranking updates. Alabama did beat No. 1 Georgia on Saturday, but Texas equated itself just fine in a rout of No. 18 Oklahoma State.

ESPN has undefeated Florida State slipped all the say to the sixth slot.

What bowl game is Texas going to?

Our own Kirk Bohls reported on Thursday that if Texas misses out on a CFP invitation, it will end up in the Cotton Bowl probably against Missouri. But the Longhorns do still have CFP hopes.

When are college football bowl games announced?

∙ Sunday, 11 a.m.

∙ TV: ESPN

Texas football schedule 2023

∙ September 2: Texas 37, Rice 10 — 4 TDs for Quinn Ewers, 3 turnovers for the defense set the tone for the season

∙ September 9: Texas 37, Alabama 10 — Best win of the season? Bama had won 21 straight at home

∙ September 16: Texas 31, Wyoming 10 — First 3-0 start for Texas since 2012

∙ September 23: Texas 38, Baylor 6 — Big nights for Quinn Ewers, Jonathon Brooks and Ja'Tavion Sanders

∙ September 30: Texas 40, Kansas 14 — Texas finished with 661 total yards, just 1 yard shy of the Horns' Big 12 title game effort

∙ October 7: Oklahoma 34, Texas 30 — If the Longhorns fall short of the CFP, it's this loss that will haunt them

∙ October 21: Texas 31, Houston 24 — The Horns had to stave off a second-half Houston rally (21 straight points)

∙ October 28: Texas 35, BYU 6 — An impressive day for the defense, which forced 3 turnovers and didn't allow a TD

∙ November 4: Texas 33, Kansas State 30 (OT) — One of the biggest scares of the season

∙ November 11: Texas 29, TCU 26 — A 300-yard night for Quinn Ewers, but also another second-half opponent's rally

∙ November 18: Texas 26, Iowa State 16 — This win was a season changer, as RB Jonathon Brooks was lost to an injury

∙ November 24: Texas 57, Texas Tech 6 — Horns secured a spot in the Big 12 title game with blowout win

∙ December 2: Texas 49, Oklahoma State 21 — Horns bid adieu to the Big 12 with a conference championship

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas bowl projections: Latest updates for Longhorns’ opponent