Remember August? Texas was the number one team in the Associated Press preseason poll for the first time in the program’s history, which also made them both the Southeastern Conference favorite and a College Football Playoff shoo-in. Longhorns redshirt and sophomore quarterback Arch Manning was the guy to bet on for the Heisman Trophy. And Texas Monthly ’s story about Manning and his family became a story in and of itself , thanks to the suggestion by his grandfather and namesake, Archie Manning, that Arch was in no hurry to leave Austin for the NFL . You don’t say!

As of today, the College Football Playoff is set to include as many as four Texas teams, but 8–3 UT will likely not be one of them. Instead, it’s 11–0 Texas A&M who have nearly automatic playoff status—even if they l

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