Texas Football: Best Bowl Options for the Longhorns

Texas head coach Charlie Strong's first regular season in Austin ended on Thanksgiving, but the Longhorns did not have much for which to be thankful.

Texas had a three-game winning streak and all of the momentum when No. 5 TCU came to town. The Longhorns also had the chance to shake up the College Football Playoff if they could find a way to upset the Horned Frogs.

But those chances quickly dwindled.

TCU handed Texas the worst home loss since 1997 in a 48-10 demolition over the Longhorns. The team's morale was low following the game, especially the seniors who ended their career with an embarrassing defeat at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

But the positive news for Texas is it already achieved the season goal: winning six or more games to make a bowl game.

When it was clear the Longhorns would not be in the mix for the College Football Playoff and were fighting to finish the season with more than three wins, Strong said the goal of the team was to become bowl eligible. The Longhorns secured the goal roughly two weeks prior to the Thanksgiving night massacre.

Now 6-6 Texas awaits its postseason bowl fate following the final games of the regular season this Saturday.

It's almost certain Texas will land in an in-state bowl game, but the outcome of Saturday's "Power 5" conference games could boost the Longhorns in the selection order.

The Horned Frogs' win over Texas finally caught the attention of the AP voters, who have ranked TCU at No. 4 for the first time this season. Speculation suggests the college football playoff committee will have a similar ranking for the Horned Frogs, but the fate of the Baylor Bears remains up in the air.

No. 4 TCU and No. 5 Baylor have one more regular season game on their schedules—TCU will face Iowa State and Baylor will host No. 9 Kansas State this upcoming Saturday. The outcome of these games could directly impact the Longhorns.

If both Baylor and TCU win and one of the remaining teams in the college football playoff race loses, the Longhorns could be placed as high as the Russell Athletic Bowl, which would be against an ACC opponent.

But the chance of this scenario coming to fruition is not very likely.

No. 6 Ohio State is the only team in a "Power 5" conference championship game that is ranked higher than its opponent yet is still an underdog, according to OddsShark.com. The Buckeyes are currently ranked behind Baylor and would need a significant upset win in order to jump the Bears.

However, one could assume a Baylor win over No. 9 Kansas State would be more impressive than an Ohio State victory over No. 11 Wisconsin.

Long story short, the best-case scenario for Texas will probably not happen.

The most likely bowl projection is for the Longhorns to secure a spot in the AdvoCare Texas Bowl in Houston.

Sporting News' most recent bowl projections lists West Virginia in the AdvoCare Texas Bowl and Texas in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Both teams finished 5-4 in conference play, but the Mountaineers have a better overall record than the Longhorns.

The AdvoCare Texas Bowl picks one spot ahead of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. If it was picking specifically based off overall record, West Virginia would get the Texas Bowl's pick.

But when one considers the ticket sales aspect of the pick, it would be shocking if the Texas Bowl didn't choose Texas if it was still on the table.

Picking a team in the state of Texas would almost certainly increase ticket sales for the AdvoCare Texas Bowl compared to picking unranked West Virginia. Choosing two Texas teams—such as Texas and Texas A&M—would likely be the most profitable situation for the Texas Bowl, but let's not expect a revival of one of the greatest college football rivalries occurring this season. 

Of the two possible scenarios listed above, the Longhorns will more than likely face an SEC opponent in the AdvoCare Texas Bowl.

Could a possible Texas vs. Texas A&M bowl game be in the works? College football fans will find out on Sunday, Dec. 7.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Taylor Gaspar is Bleacher Report's featured columnist covering the Texas Longhorns. Follow Taylor on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar.