College Football Playoff—Cotton Bowl Preview: No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Texas

Emeka Egbuka No. 2, Lathan Ransom No. 8, and Gee Scott Jr. No. 88 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrate with the Leishman Trophy after defeating the Oregon Ducks 41–21 in the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1, 2025. Harry How/Getty Images

The College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams this season, meaning teams that didn’t even play in their respective conference championship games still had a chance to claim a national championship. That expansion opened the door for teams with two losses to get into the dance, and one of the remaining teams has taken advantage of their opportunity despite not playing for their conference title.

The second of the semifinal games is on Friday night when Ohio State, the hottest team in the field, travels to take on Texas in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Texas won the SEC in its first year in the conference and is looking to add to its program’s incredible history. The Buckeyes expected to be here, but a two-loss regular season left some questioning head coach Ryan Day’s job security.

Texas last won a national championship during its incredible run with Vince Young in 2005. Ohio State upset Alabama in 2014 to win its last national championship when Urban Meyer was the head coach.

College Football Playoff Semifinal No. 2

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

No. 5 Texas (13–1) vs. No. 8 Ohio State (13–2) Jan. 10—8:30 p.m. Eastern AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

How they got here

• Texas 38—Clemson 24 (at Texas)
• Texas 39—Arizona State 31 (2OT) (Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl)
• Ohio State 42—Tennessee 17 (at Ohio State)
• Ohio State 41—Oregon 21 (Rose Bowl presented by Prudential)

The Quarterbacks

Will Howard, Ohio State

• 3,490 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, 9 INT, 7.26 comp. pct.
• 165 rush yards, 7 touchdowns

Quinn Ewers, Texas

• 3,189 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, 11 INT, 66.5 comp. pct.

Arch Manning, Texas

• 939 passing yards, 9 touchdowns, 2 INT, 67.8 comp. pct.
• 100 rush yards, 4 touchdowns

Impact Players

Ohio State: Jeremiah Smith, WR

• 70 catches, 1,224 receiving yards, 14 receiving touchdowns
• 52 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown

Texas: Matthew Golden, WR

• 56 catches, 936 receiving yards, 9 receiving touchdowns

Who has the advantage?

Ohio State has been the best team in the field—where many expected them to be when the season began in August. This was supposed to be one of the best teams the Buckeyes ever put together, and now they’re playing like it. They’ve blown out Tennessee and, in the Rose Bowl, previously undefeated and No. 1 Oregon.

Howard is a fifth-year college player who had a strong four-year run at Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State. He was terrific this year in nearly every game (except the loss to Michigan), and he’s been unreal in the playoffs thus far.

It helps when he has one of the best true freshman receivers in recent memory in Smith. In two playoff games, Smith has 13 catches for 290 yards and four touchdowns. He’s been unstoppable, no matter how good the coverage might be.

Texas has two quarterbacks who might see action in this game, which makes for a tough decision-making process for their coaches if Ohio State gets off to a fast start like it has in its last two games. At what point does Manning make an appearance? And does Ewers, who started his college career at Ohio State, get back in the game if he comes out at some point?

Let’s not forget this game is being played in Texas, however. Even though Ohio State travels well, this will likely look and sound like a home game for the Longhorns.