Ohio State is the lowest seed remaining in the College Football Playoff, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a significant amount of people that didn’t have the Buckeyes as the favorites to win the national championship in Atlanta on Jan. 20. That’s because Ohio State have rolled through Tennessee and No. 1 Oregon in consecutive matchups with its offense dominating two of the better defenses in the country.
The task of stopping the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl semifinal is Texas. The Longhorns appeared to be cruising to a defeat of Arizona State in the Peach Bowl quarterfinal before a fourth-quarter stumble led to a dramatic overtime victory. With questions on offense, Texas will need to find a way to generate points to keep pace with Ohio State.
In addition to reaching the national championship game, there are also bragging rights at stake with the Buckeyes of the Big Ten facing the Longhorns of the SEC. One conference will be able to puff out its chest at the end of the game. So who wins? Our experts make their picks.
Scooby Axson
If Ohio State gets its offense rolling, it will be up to Texas and Quinn Ewers to keep up and match the Buckeyes score for score. The problem is that the Longhorns have shown a tendency to stall on offense and to blow leads, which can turn a possible comfortable victory into having to make plays down the stretch. The $20 million train rolls along, and the Michigan debacle looks and feels more like a distant memory than anything. Ohio State 34, Texas 21.
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Jordan Mendoza
Ohio State has by far looked like a national championship winning team. But what’s been the key for the Buckeyes have been the blazing hot starts that has made a comeback seem impossible. The Texas defense, after a shaky second half against Arizona State, can’t fall behind early if it wants to move onto the national title. The unit is unable to contain Jeremiah Smith and company the Buckeyes punch their ticket to Atlanta. Ohio State 31, Texas 20.
Paul Myerberg
Ohio State won’t be stopped. Texas will need to play its best game of the year (or maybe the decade, if not the generation) to upend the mighty Buckeyes. While Quinn Ewers played well late in the Peach Bowl, the Longhorns’ general lack of consistency on offense will eventually help OSU pull away and score another double-digit win. Ohio State 38, Texas 27.
Erick Smith
In the postseason, sometimes pregame expectations are met and momentum carries through to the next round. The vast majority of people anticipate Ohio State continuing its playoff domination against Texas. But what if the Longhorns might be benefiting from overconfidence from the Buckeyes? That’s certainly a possibility given the way the quarterfinals went for both teams. It’ll take a huge effort from quarterback Quinn Ewers and the Texas offense to pull off the upset. It probably won’t happen. Just don’t be surprised if this game is closer than you think. Ohio State 28, Texas 24.
Eddie Timanus
Texas is going to have to be just about perfect to hang with the Buckeyes – and it won’t be. The Longhorns will get points, but not nearly enough. A first-half interception will allow Ohio State to build a multiple-score lead it won’t relinquish. Ohio State 45, Texas 24.
Dan Wolken
If the Buckeyes’ offense keeps operating at the level it has produced for the first two CFP games, this one won’t be close. Sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get explosive plays out of Texas’ offense, and they will need more than a few in this game to keep pace. The Longhorns’ defense has been good all season, but there were some serious cracks in the quarterfinals against Arizona State and the level of perimeter skill they have to account for in this game is unlike anything they’ve seen all year. Ohio State deserves to be the favorite here. Ohio State 38, Texas 17.