How Texas got its record has been the center of its playoff case. It suffered the season-opening loss to Ohio State 14-7 in Columbus, which ended up being the closest game the Buckeyes played during their undefeated regular season. The Longhorns also lost at Georgia by 25 points in Week 12.

Twenty-eight people at Camp Mystic — 25 campers, the camp's owner and two counselors — died in the July 4 floods when the Guadalupe River breached its banks.