Texas’ Big NIL Investment Falls Short as Longhorns Flop Against Georgia
ATHENS, GA — The headline last spring made waves and raised expectations. During one of the quietest periods on the sports calendar, veteran reporter Kirk Bohls of the Houston Chronicle dropped a bombshell: Texas’ roster was set to earn at least $35 million in NIL and revenue-share earnings.
Aggregators couldn’t get enough of the story. It exploded across platforms. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian tried to dial back the hype, calling the report a rumor and pushing back against the highest estimates of the payroll projection. Yet no one denied that Texas invested heavily in a team that earned a preseason No. 1 ranking.
So, what’s the return policy on that massive investment? Texas’ war chest paid for the most average team money could buy. They paid for a Porsche, but got a Kia instead. Not a terrible set of wheels—it’s just not a Porsche.
Currently, Texas sits as the third-best team in the state of Texas and a mid-tier squad in arguably the nation’s deepest conference. With two games left before conference championship weekend, five SEC teams remain strong playoff contenders. No. 10 Texas, however, is not one of them after a 35-10 loss to No. 5 Georgia at Sanford Stadium.
We can’t officially call Texas’ playoff hopes dead just yet— a Black Friday win against Texas A&M would give the committee something to ponder. But at best, the Longhorns will enter Selection Sunday as a three-loss team, hoping to become the first-ever three-loss qualifier in College Football Playoff history.
No matter how much this roster cost, the playoff pitch just doesn’t hold water. National championship aspirations are long gone. The sobering reality is Texas is almost certainly headed for an also-ran bowl game against an opponent that didn’t spend nearly as much on its squad.
Although this loss might be remembered as the one that pushed Texas to the very edge of the playoff bubble, let the historians remember that Texas blew its chances weeks ago with a loss to a previously sputtering Florida team in The Swamp. Call this season what it is: a flop.
Arch Manning Shows Improvement, Gunner Stockton Outshines
No postmortem on the Longhorns’ season would be complete without mentioning that Texas’ quarterback, Arch Manning—who carries one of football’s most famous surnames—did not live up to the high expectations.
Still, Manning steadily improved as the season progressed and cannot be solely blamed for this result. In fact, he was one of the better performers in a white jersey on this night.
But Georgia’s Gunner Stockton played even better, passing for four touchdowns and rushing for another. Ten of Stockton’s first 11 passes found their mark, exploiting a Texas secondary that has consistently provided inadequate coverage—roughly like wearing a tank top in a thunderstorm.
Kirby Smart’s Mastery Over Steve Sarkisian Continues
Georgia didn’t rely heavily on the run game because Stockton was nearly unstoppable through the air, completing nearly 83% of his passes.
The Bulldogs confidently went for it twice on fourth downs during a critical second-half scoring drive. Stockton converted the first with a play-action pass, then drew the Longhorns offsides on fourth-and-5, moving the chains again, before finishing the drive with another touchdown pass.
If those gutsy fourth-down calls weren’t enough, Kirby Smart hit Texas with a sneaky onside kick immediately after that score. Cash Jones secured Georgia’s first onside kick recovery in twelve years.
For the third time in the past thirteen months, Smart has taken Steve Sarkisian’s “lunch money.”
Looking Ahead: Conference Titles and Playoff Positioning
If SEC championship teams were decided today, Georgia wouldn’t even be in the game. Perhaps this is a blessing— a conference championship weekend breather coupled with a likely No. 5 playoff seed and first-round home game would put the Bulldogs in an ideal spot.
Georgia looks more like a true national championship contender than a vulnerable bubble team.
As Georgia pulled away in the fourth quarter and chants of “U-G-A! U-G-A!” echoed through the crowd, you could almost hear the collective sigh of relief from the College Football Playoff selection committee.
The playoff bubble is getting crowded, but the committee’s job becomes easier each time a two-loss team turns into a three-loss team. With this loss, Texas made the committee’s decision easy: no thanks.
Final Thoughts
Texas’ massive investment in its football roster failed to deliver a playoff bid, highlighting the volatility and unpredictability of college football.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. You can email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
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