I haven't seen this brought up enough when everyone is saying how great shape Texas is going forward. Texas wasted this whole decade of the 4 team playoff era. 2014-2017 and 2020-2022 weren't even close to being contenders. 2018 was a very talented, scrappy team that could have made it if a few close losses went our way. You only need to win 2 games to win it all. Now, it's going to be more than that. That makes it much different. Making the playoffs in the new 12 team is not even the same as making it in the 4 team. Sure, you might make it more in the new 12 team but they don't hold the same weight. Football is a game of attrition. More games is more chances for injuries to important pieces. It's a game of inches and a few plays here and there make the difference, as Texas saw last week. Not to mention, moving to a different conference and more obstacles in our way.
Washington is going to be kicking themselves, too because who the hell knows if they even sniff a title game moving to the Big 10 and the 12 team version. You can't just play the game if your life and get into the title game now. You need to repeat it multiple times.