Texas ranks No. 17 in initial College Football Playoff rankings

The Texas Longhorns debuted at No. 17 nationally in the initial release of the College Football Playoff rankings revealed on ESPN Tuesday evening, third in the Big 12 behind the No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners and the No. 13 Iowa State Cyclones.

Texas will face off against Iowa State on Friday morning at 11 a.m. Central on ABC in a game with Big 12 title implications — the winner will have a strong chance at making an appearance in Arlington next month.

As for the playoff implications of Texas appearing in the first CFP rankings, there are none with two losses on the season in a down year for the conference. So it’s just another indication of where national observers feel the Longhorns program is at right now.

Here are the full rankings, which also include the Oklahoma State Cowboys at No. 23 following another Bedlam loss for head coach Mike Gundy: