Penn State, Texas get the best unlikely news after embarrassing losses to UCLA, Florida

Penn State, Texas get the best unlikely news after embarrassing losses to UCLA, Florida originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It’s not over for the Penn State Nittany Lions and Texas Longhorns after dropping must-haves to the UCLA Bruins and Florida Gators. Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg relayed that there’s an unlikely, but realistic chance a 9-3 school makes it to the College Football Playoff.

Texas’s reprieve is being in the SEC and the Gators, which have suffered losses to top teams like the No. 2 Miami Hurricanes, the No. 11 LSU Tigers, and the No. 24 USF Bulls. Penn State’s reprieve is its upset opportunities against the Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana Hoosiers.

“As Penn State has two games remaining against ranked opponents, Texas has four. And the jury may still be out on just how good Florida is. Two of the Gators’ three losses are to teams currently ranked in the top 15 and South Florida appears to be one of the best teams in the American Conference. The Gators could still finish at .500 or better despite a schedule that includes eight ranked opponents,” Bromberg wrote.

“Texas, meanwhile, also has games against No. 12 Georgia and No. 6 Texas A&M. Not only is there a real — if unlikely — path to the playoff as a 9-3 at-large team, the Longhorns are also still in the thick of the SEC title race. For now, anyway.”

CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah doesn’t have confidence in the Nittany Lions against the Buckeyes at the “Shoe” or hosting the Hoosiers the very next week at Beaver Stadium.

“Instead, five games into the season, the most important roster in Penn State's 21st Century is lacking. The Nittany Lions still have to play No. 1 Ohio State and No. 8 Indiana, games they will probably lose. This will go down as one of the biggest "what if" rosters in program history. With Franklin, that question will come up for years to come,” Jeyarajah wrote.

Jeyarajah also deemed the Oklahoma Sooners, Georgia Bulldogs, and Texas A&M Aggies games “insurmountable” and proclaimed a three-loss season won’t be good enough for the Longhorns to make the CFP field.

“Texas is showing cracks in nearly every aspect of the game, but the struggles in the trenches are a major warning sign heading into the heart of SEC play. With Florida's ability to bully them, games against No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 12 Georgia and No. 6 Texas A&M suddenly look insurmountable. Texas likely has to win out to make the College Football Playoff. With what we've seen, that's highly unlikely,” Jeyarajah wrote.

Penn State and Texas have faith from some, if not all, analysts. That’s better than what could’ve reasonably been expected given the massive disappointments Drew Allar and Arch Manning have been in 2025.