My opinion is this:
There are some compelling arguments to be made here but I feel like when it comes to Fringe teams like Texas, that's when you start taking the eye test into account. And I'm a firm believer that the eye test should matter when it comes to those final teams that you're deciding on.
And if I was to remove that Longhorns logo off the side of the helmet, I can't say I would vote them into the playoffs. How many times have you watched Texas play this year and came away thinking "that's an impressive team"?
I'm a Texas fan and I can tell you how many times I've thought that -- zero.
While some of this was due to Manning's early struggles, the Longhorns just looked very average against average competition. Yeah, those three wins against top 15 opponents is impressive, but those relatively close games against mediocre competition doesn't say "playoff team" to me.
And if Texas were to get into the playoffs, I can see a scenario where maybe they win a game and maybe even give the next team after that a really close game.
But if they were to go up against a truly elite team, I think it would be a one-sided affair similar to what happened when they went up to Athens a few weeks ago and were never really in that game vs Georgia.
Maybe Manning playing better now would change things, but I can't say I'm convinced of that and that's why I don't think they belong and won't have a problem if they're left out of it.