Texas
Does Texas play Saturday? Longhorns schedule for College Football Playoff
Texas football will face Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
What Texas football is facing after ling the SEC title to Georgia
Columnist Cedric Golden breaks down what wrong in Texas’ Saturday’s 22-19 SEC title loss to Georgia and what it means for the postseason.
There will be some college football action Saturday but Texas football will not be playing.
The Longhorns have some time to recover physically and mentally after a taxing loss to Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship. Their next game will be Dec. 21 against Clemson in the first round of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian appreciates the extended layover, though he would have loved the extra week of rest the first-round bye would’ve brought.
“I would love to get as healthy as we can get, but nobody’s going to be 100% healthy at this point of the season,” Sarkisian said last Monday. “Everybody’s got bumps and bruises.”
Texas faced Georgia without its starting left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., who was dealing with a left ankle injury. Banks was selected to the All-SEC first team this past week and is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft. The Longhorns will also hope to get wide receiver Isaiah Bond and quarterback Quinn Ewers as close to fully healthy as possible.
Does Texas play this week?
No. Texas is the fifth seed in the College Football Playoff and will face Clemson, the 12th seed, in the first round. The winner will face Arizona State in the quarterfinals at the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day. If Texas wins, it will play a semifinal on Jan. 10 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas with a chance to head to the national title game on Jan. 20, 2025, in Atlanta.
Clemson is led by quarterback Cade Klubnik, who has some history with the Austin area. A Westlake alumnus, Klubnik defeated Ewers and Southlake Carroll in the state finals of the 2021 UIL Texas high school football playoffs.
Texas football schedule
Longhorns’ season record: 11-2
- Aug. 31: Texas beat. Colorado State, 52-0
- Sept. 7: Texas beat Michigan, 31-12
- Sept. 14: Texas beat UTSA, 56-7
- Sept. 21: Texas beat ULM, 51-3
- Sept. 28: Texas beat Mississippi State, 35-13
- Oct. 12: Texas beat Oklahoma, 34-3
- Oct. 19: Texas lost to Georgia, 30-15
- Oct. 26: Texas beat Vanderbilt, 27-24
- Nov. 9: Texas beat Florida, 49-17
- Nov. 16: Texas beat Arkansas, 20-10
- Nov. 23: Texas beat Kentucky, 31-14
- Nov. 30: Texas beat Texas A&M, 17-7
- Dec. 7: Georgia beat Texas, 22-19 (SEC Championship Game)
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A day off at the pool — and a little sunburn — didn’t stop the Minnesota Twins’ momentum.
Brooks Lee hit a three-run homer as Minnesota scored multiple runs in the first inning for the third consecutive game, and the Twins went on to complete a series sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 9-3 win Thursday.
Minnesota has won four games in a row and scored 25 runs in the three-games series in Texas. The two teams had a rare, mid-series day off on Wednesday with the England-Croatia World Cup game being played in Arlington.
“We’re locked in every day,” Lee told Audra Martin on the team’s broadcast. “Yesterday, taking time off, lay out by the pool, get a little burnt and then right back to it. We did a good job getting focused. I feel like we do that with rain delays, too, just lock back in and we’re doing it.”
Lee’s 12th homer capped a four-run first off Jack Leiter (3-7). Trevor Larnach made it 6-0 in the fourth with a two-run shot to straightaway center that just cleared the extended glove of leaping Alejandro Osuna. Larnach’s third hit was an RBI single in the fifth, and Ryan Kriedler hit a two-run homer in the eighth.
Joe Ryan (5-3) struck out seven but needed 97 pitches to get through five scoreless innings while allowing three singles. Leiter was done after the fourth, and has given up 17 runs while losing three starts in a row.
The Twins never trailed in the sweep that extended their winning streak to four, matching their longest this season. Their 14-5 record at Globe Life Field is the best for any American League opponent since the ballpark opened in 2020.
Wyatt Langford, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue hit solo homers for the Rangers, who have lost five of six games. They are 0-15 when giving up multiple runs in the first inning.
Twins DH Josh Bell, who was born in nearby Irving and grew up in the area, had an RBI single before Lee’s homer. Bell hit a three-run homer in the first inning of the series-opening 4-2 win Monday, and had an RBI single for a 2-0 lead in the first of a 12-2 win on Tuesday.
“We’re just passing the baton each time,” Lee said of the offensive output. “Our guys are hot. They feel good and they came out swinging today. It was awesome to see. We’ve done that for a while now.”
Up next
Twins rookie left-hander Connor Prielipp (2-4, 5.26 ERA) starts Friday at Arizona. The Diamondbacks are scheduled to start right-hander Michael Soroka (8-3, 3.11).
Watch CBS News
A Texas state trooper was killed in a crash in the Panhandle, becoming the 244th Texas Department of Public Safety officer to die in the line of duty since 1823, according to the agency.
Sergio Romero, 27, died Wednesday after a semi-truck pulled in front of him as he attempted a traffic stop around 4 p.m. on U.S. 287 in Childress County, DPS said.
In a statement, Col. Freeman F. Martin praised Romero’s courage, integrity, and service.
“Today, we grieve the loss of one of our own,” Martin said. “… Our hearts break alongside his family, friends, fellow troopers, and all who loved him. We will never forget the ultimate sacrifice he made in service of his fellow Texans.”
Romero previously served with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office before joining DPS as part of Class B-2025 in Childress, the agency said.
He is survived by his wife, Francisca, and their two young sons.
Funeral arrangements are pending. The crash remains under investigation.
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