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

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
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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.

Tab Bamford
Tab Bamford
Author
Tab Bamford has been writing about sports for two decades. He has worked with the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Big Ten Conference, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and been credentialed for all-star events and postseason games in MLB, the NFL, NHL, NBA and NCAA.