AUSTIN -- Following a weekend of upsets, the Texas Longhorns have risen in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. The CFP committee released its second set of rankings Tuesday and moved Texas up to No. 3. The Longhorns also slid in as the No. 2 seed ...

The Longhorns are third in the second College Football Rankings but still have three SEC games remaining, including at Arkansas and Texas A&M.

Prior to the release of the latest College Football Playoff Rankings on Tuesday, The Athletic's Stewart Mandel outlined how No. 3 Texas is currently reaping the benefits of an outdated tradition in college football polls.

The Longhorns have a realistic path to the College Football Playoff. The Razorbacks, already with three losses, are as good as eliminated. With a couple of breaks, Texas could end up playing for the SEC title at the end of the regular season. It would take a tiebreaker pileup of epic proportions to get Arkansas there.

The first thing you notice about an SEC championship trophy is the weight. It’s heavy. Not bulky enough that it takes two people. But it’s not exactly a feather, either. “But it’s a nice looking trophy,