Steve Sarkisian: SEC Title Loss 'Stings,' But Texas 'Plenty Good Enough' to Win CFP

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian believes his team still remains a strong contender for a national championship.

The Longhorns fell 22-19 to Georgia in the SEC Championship, failing to secure an auto-bid into the College Football Playoff. This was Texas' second loss of the season with both coming against the Bulldogs.

The loss won't eliminate Texas from the 12-team field for the Playoff but it does signal that the Longhorns will have to play an extra game. Following the loss, Sarkisian acknowledged that the loss "stings" but that his team is good enough to win a national title.

"This stings," Sarkisian said, per the Associated Press. "But we get a chance to regroup in a couple weeks and get into the College Football Playoff and go compete for a national championship. I think we're plenty good enough to go win that."

Georgia saw starting quarterback Carson Beck suffer an injury right before halftime and he only played a single snap in overtime to help the Bulldogs secure the win, handing off the ball to running back Trevor Etienne for the game-winning touchdown. Backup Gunner Stockton played the entire third and fourth quarters and kept the offense afloat, but he wasn't necessarily a major threat.

Texas had a prime opportunity to claim the victory and held Georgia to just 277 total yards. However, three turnovers, 11 penalties and two missed field goals held the team back and ultimately allowed Georgia to steal the victory.

The Longhorns will need to beat some opponents at Georgia's level in the playoff and will have to limit the struggles from Saturday. If they do that, Sarkisian's hopes of a title do appear to be possible.