Can Texas football reach the Big 12 title game and the playoff? Chances good with wins.

In the aftermath of Saturday’s wrenching loss to Oklahoma, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian chose pragmatism over panic.

Yes, OU exposed some Longhorns flaws in its 34-30 win at the Cotton Bowl.

Yes, No. 9 Texas (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) needs to get better in several specific areas, notably with its red zone offense and edge rush on defense.

But, no, the Longhorns’ hopes of corralling their first conference title since 2009 didn’t get fried along with hot dogs, Oreos, Fireball shots and all sorts of other tidbits at the State Fair.

“We went into the season with the goal to be champions, and those goals still remain,” Sarkisian said at his weekly press conference Monday. “There's no divisions in the Big 12. The two best teams get to go play for a championship, and we control that with what we do and how we play. Naturally, nobody likes to lose the game, but we’ve got to go handle our business — and we're more than capable of doing that.”

More: Plenty of injured Longhorns on the mend as No. 9 Texas enters its bye week

Where does Texas stack up in the Big 12?

Technically, Texas doesn’t control its Big 12 fate, thanks to West Virginia’s surprising 2-0 start to Big 12 play. The Mountaineers and Oklahoma are the only two conference teams without a loss, and the two programs meet Nov. 11 in Norman. If West Virginia — picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll, much to the ire of head coach Neal Brown — manages to win the rest of its Big 12 games while handing Oklahoma its only conference loss, the two teams would meet again in the Big 12 title game Dec. 6 in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium.

West Virginia does not play Texas this season.

However, one West Virginia loss would likely clear the path for Texas to the title game, based on the format of Big 12 tiebreakers. Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech, BYU, Kansas State and Oklahoma State are currently tied with Texas in the loss column in Big 12 play. Texas has already beaten Kansas and will play all of those teams except for Oklahoma State, and head-to-head results are the first tiebreaker used by the Big 12 to determine its title game participant.

If two teams finish tied in the standings and have not played each other, then the Big 12 will essentially use winning percentage against common conference opponents followed by a conference strength of schedule as tiebreakers. If three teams finish tied, the conference will revert to winning percentage against common conference opponents if head-to-head results aren’t applicable.

More: Texas-OU notebook: TE Gunnar Helm steps up with career game in Horns' loss.

Of course, none of that will likely matter if Texas can’t run the rest of its conference table and set up a probable rematch with the Sooners. No. 5 Oklahoma and the No. 9 Longhorns remain the two highest-regarded teams in the conference, with No. 23 Kansas the only other Big 12 team in this week’s Associated Press poll.

“We definitely do want to see them (Oklahoma) again, but you’ve got to be able to do the necessary things it takes to do that,” Texas right tackle Christian Jones said after Saturday's loss. “We just kind of want this (loss) to sting a little bit, and I started immediately to think about the things that you could have done yourself to help win this game. A loss like this does bring a team together closer, and we're going go back to Austin, go back home, look at the film, work on the mistakes and just move on.”

More: Golden: As the bye week starts, Texas' margin for CFP error is now down to zero

How long is the shot at reaching the four-team playoff?

But if Texas does move on in the Big 12, could that mean an invitation into the four-team College Football Playoff for the first time since the NCAA implemented the postseason format in 2014? That path also appears open, even though Texas fell six spots in the national rankings following its loss to Oklahoma.

All the teams above Texas in the AP poll are unbeaten but face challenging schedules in the second half of the season. In comparison, Texas has already played three currently ranked opponents in Oklahoma, Alabama and Kansas, but doesn’t face another opponent that currently sits in the AP poll.

If Texas does reach the Big 12 title game, the team could face an unbeaten Oklahoma squad with its own CFP hopes. Top-ranked Georgia or whoever wins the SEC seems like a lock to make the playoff. The Big Ten winner will also likely qualify, but the three undefeated Big Ten teams — No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 5 Penn State — must all still play each other. The Pac-12 finds itself in a similar situation; No. 7 Washington, No. 8 Oregon and No. 10 USC will still play each other in conference play, which means at least two of those teams will suffer at least one loss.

Florida State, at No. 4, may have the clearest path to the CFP outside of the Big 12 considering the relative weakness of the ACC as well as the Seminoles’ road win at Clemson earlier this season.

While Texas players may not be aware of all the possible scenarios in each of the Power Five conferences, Sarkisian makes sure they realize the stakes that would come with a string of wins in the second half of the season.

“We do talk about the big picture, especially during a bye week, so that they can understand the lay of the land,” Sarkisian said. “And then we drill back down into what's of importance right now. What do we need to do to make sure that we put ourselves in that position down the road?”

Second-half surge?

Texas finished the first half of the season 5-1, including a 2-1 mark in Big 12 play. Let’s look at the remainder of the schedule:

∙ Oct. 21, at Houston (2-3, 0-2): The Cougars have allowed 42.5 points a game in Big 12 losses to TCU, Texas Tech

∙ Oct. 28, BYU (4-1, 1-1): The Big 12 newcomers have scored at least 35 points in three of the past four games

∙ Nov. 4, Kansas State (3-2, 1-1): The Wildcats, who are perennial troublemakers for Texas, were stunned by Oklahoma State last weekend

∙ Nov. 11, at TCU (3-3, 1-2): The Frogs are on a two-game skid and QB Chandler Morris is sidelined with a knee injury

∙ Nov. 18, at Iowa State (3-3, 2-1): The scrappy Cyclones are competitive despite the offseason gambling scandal

∙ Nov. 24, Texas Tech (3-3, 2-1): The Yormark Bowl at DKR could be an emotional end to a long and bitter rivalry

Top 10 turmoil?

Texas, which had risen up to No. 3 in The Associated Press poll before its loss to Oklahoma, dropped to No. 9 this week. A look at the number of ranked teams each top-10 team must face in the rest of the regular season:

No. 1 Georgia (6-0): No. 13 Ole Miss, at No. 19 Tennessee

No. 2 Michigan (6-0): at No 6 Penn State, No. 3 Ohio State

No. 3 Ohio State (5-0): No. 6 Penn State, at No. 2 Michigan

No. 4 Florida State (5-0): No. 17 Duke, No. 25 Miami

No. 5 Oklahoma (6-0): at No. 23 Kansas

No. 6 Penn State (5-0): at No. 3 Ohio State, No. 2 Michigan

No. 7 Washington (5-0): No. 8 Oregon, at No. 10 USC, No. 16 Utah, at No. 15 Oregon State, No. 19 Washington State

No. 8 Oregon (5-0): at No. 7 Washington, No. 19 Washington State, at No. 16 Utah, No. 10 USC, No. 15 Oregon State

No. 9 Texas (5-1): none

No. 10 USC (6-0): at No. 21 Notre Dame, No. 16 Utah, No. 7 Washington, at No. 8 Oregon, No. 18 UCLA

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Is Texas football still in game for Big 12 title, playoff berth?