Nothing in the sports world compares to March Madness. It’s a postseason that actually makes sense, 68 college basketball teams compete for their right to claim a national championship. Grueling upsets, heartbreak, and pure elation flow for an entire month.
In the world of college football, the madness begins with four teams instead of 64. What if the College Football Playoff finally decided to expand and follow its basketball counterparts?
Well, ESPN did just that, ranking the top teams in the country and putting them in a March Madness-style bracket.
Texas was put on the six seed line with the likes of Notre Dame, Ole Miss, and Michigan. Their first-round matchup was against Arkansas, who will ironically be one of the Longhorns’ Power Five nonconference matchups in 2021. Steve Sarkisian took care of the Hogs with ease according to ESPN, moving onto the Round of 32.
(6) Texas 34, (11) Arkansas 21: In a matchup of old Southwest Conference rivals — and 52 years after their “Game of the Century” — the Longhorns give first-year coach Steve Sarkisian his first NCAA tournament victory in a game that’s never really in doubt after halftime.
If you asked Sarkisian if he would take a 13 point victory over Arkansas on Sept. 11, he would say yes before you finished the sentence.
Moving into the next round, Texas would be going up against Sarkisian and Pete Kwiatkowski’s old stomping grounds with Washington. The Huskies are ranked as a three seed and looking to stick it to their old coach.
Sadly for the city of Seattle, Texas will be moving onto the Sweet 16, but barely. Kwiatkowski backs up his move to Austin with his unit coming in the clutch when needed the most.
(6) Texas 28, (3) Washington 23: Texas paid Sarkisian some serious cash ($34.2 million) to bring him from Alabama to the Forty Acres, and that investment is paying off for the Longhorns in his first season. And this time, it’s the Texas defense that clamps down when it needs to in the fourth quarter.
ESPN has yet to finish the simulation, but the No. 2 seed Miami Hurricanes will be next. Clemson and Utah face off on the other side of the bracket with the winners heading to the Elite Eight.