AUSTIN -- The first College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday, and as expected, the Texas Longhorns are squarely in the mix in the eyes of the CFP committee.

Texas slides in at No. 5 in the initial rankings and is the No. 6 seed. In the current bracket projections, the Longhorns would host a first-round playoff game against Alabama in a No. 6 vs. No. 11 seed matchup.

The Longhorns currently stand at 7-1 headed into Saturday's matchup against the Florida Gators. Texas' only loss is to Georgia, which is considered a "good loss" on the resume. If they win out, the Longhorns will essentially lock up a spot in the CFP but will need a little bit of help to secure a spot in the SEC Championship.

Moving forward, the AP Poll is now basically useless with the CFP rankings coming out weekly.

"I think now more than ever -- and I don't want to take anything away from the polls -- because of the 12-team playoff, it really doesn't matter," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said earlier this season. "We say it all the time as a team, it's not really what other people think of us. It's about what we do, and we've got to perform, and we've got to prepare to perform. Because the way this is set up, back in the day, the polls were huge, because the polls dictated who got to play for a national championship, and ultimately, who won the national championship. Nowadays, you got to go earn it."

Texas and Florida will kick off from Austin on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.

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