
Sixty minutes of war with one of the most talented rosters in the sport stands between Ohio State and a shot at college football’s ultimate prize
The Buckeyes will try to handle what is expected to be a hostile crowd in Arlington for the Cotton Bowl, just three hours away from the campus of their College Football Playoff semifinal opponent, Texas. While both teams played home games in the first round and defeated squads that got byes in the quarterfinals, their CFP stories have been starkly different to date.
Ohio State entered as the eighth seed in the CFP and blew apart each of its first two opponents. The Buckeyes’ 42-17 dismantling of ninth-seeded Tennessee was eye-catching but not especially surprising given a home atmosphere, cold-weather conditions and the overall talent that always lay beneath the surface of a squad fresh off a 13-10 loss to its rival. More shocking is the beatdown the scarlet and gray unleashed upon No. 1 Oregon.
Despite losing to the Ducks 32-31 on the road the first time the teams played this year, Ohio State raced out to a 34-0 lead en route to a 41-21 demolishing. Texas, by contrast, nearly fell in its quarterfinal game after handling 12th-seeded Clemson in the first round.
Entering as favorites over fourth-seeded Arizona State in the Peach Bowl, the Longhorns allowed a 16-point fourth-quarter comeback off the back of 143 rushing yards and 99 receiving yards from star Sun Devil running back Cameron Skattebo. It took a controversial targeting no-call and overtime for Texas to finally put ASU away, 39-31.
That’s why, despite Texas’ talent, higher seeding and a likely friendly environment, the Longhorns are entering the Cotton Bowl as underdogs. But it’s a role head coach Steve Sarkisian is playing into.
“I need Longhorn Nation to show out in Arlington,” he told reporters last week. “We’re going to need everything we’ve got to try to win this game. Clearly, we’re massive underdogs. Nobody’s going to give us a shot. So we’re going to need all that we can to try to win this game.”
Ohio State can’t afford to take Texas lightly so close to attaining the redemption it’s dreamed of since falling to Michigan on the last weekend of November. The Buckeyes must win a battle of elite defenses and curtail a familiar face at quarterback for Texas.Ohio State vs. Texas Preview: Battle of Elite Defenses On Tap for Cotton Bowl With National Championship Game Spot On the Line
By Andy Anders on January 9, 2025 at 8:35 am @andyanders55
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Sixty minutes of war with one of the most talented rosters in the sport stands between Ohio State and a shot at college football’s ultimate prize.
5 Texas
Longhorns
13 – 2 (7-2)
roster | schedule
Jan. 10, 2025 – 7:30 pm et
AT&T Stadium
Arlington, TX
ESPNOSU -6
The Buckeyes will try to handle what is expected to be a hostile crowd in Arlington for the Cotton Bowl, just three hours away from the campus of their College Football Playoff semifinal opponent, Texas. While both teams played home games in the first round and defeated squads that got byes in the quarterfinals, their CFP stories have been starkly different to date.
Ohio State entered as the eighth seed in the CFP and blew apart each of its first two opponents. The Buckeyes’ 42-17 dismantling of ninth-seeded Tennessee was eye-catching but not especially surprising given a home atmosphere, cold-weather conditions and the overall talent that always lay beneath the surface of a squad fresh off a 13-10 loss to its rival. More shocking is the beatdown the scarlet and gray unleashed upon No. 1 Oregon.
The Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2024-25 College Football Playoff
Despite losing to the Ducks 32-31 on the road the first time the teams played this year, Ohio State raced out to a 34-0 lead en route to a 41-21 demolishing. Texas, by contrast, nearly fell in its quarterfinal game after handling 12th-seeded Clemson in the first round.
Entering as favorites over fourth-seeded Arizona State in the Peach Bowl, the Longhorns allowed a 16-point fourth-quarter comeback off the back of 143 rushing yards and 99 receiving yards from star Sun Devil running back Cameron Skattebo. It took a controversial targeting no-call and overtime for Texas to finally put ASU away, 39-31.
That’s why, despite Texas’ talent, higher seeding and a likely friendly environment, the Longhorns are entering the Cotton Bowl as underdogs. But it’s a role head coach Steve Sarkisian is playing into.
“I need Longhorn Nation to show out in Arlington,” he told reporters last week. “We’re going to need everything we’ve got to try to win this game. Clearly, we’re massive underdogs. Nobody’s going to give us a shot. So we’re going to need all that we can to try to win this game.”
Ohio State can’t afford to take Texas lightly so close to attaining the redemption it’s dreamed of since falling to Michigan on the last weekend of November. The Buckeyes must win a battle of elite defenses and curtail a familiar face at quarterback for Texas.
The Headlines
Defense Wins Championships
JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer celebrate after Rose Bowl
JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer have combined for 7.5 sacks in two Ohio State playoff games.
Two of the best defenses in college football will take the field in Arlington on Friday.
Ohio State is No. 1 in both scoring and total defense this season. Texas is right behind them at No. 4 and No. 3, respectively. The Longhorns are No. 1 in passing yards allowed per attempt while the Buckeyes are No. 3. Ohio State is No. 2 in opposing yards per carry and Texas is No. 14.
Defensive line, linebacker and secondary, there are no consistent weaknesses for either unit at any of the three levels. Texas has the Jim Thorpe Award winner at cornerback in Jahdae Barron, a first-team All-SEC linebacker in Anthony Hill Jr. and a Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year with nine sacks at defensive end in Colin Simmons. Ohio State has a unanimous All-American at safety in Caleb Downs, a first-team All-Big Ten linebacker in Cody Simon and perhaps the nation’s premier defensive end tandem – certainly the CFP’s premier defensive end tandem thus far – in JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer.
The only team to manage more than 17 points in a game against Ohio State is Oregon, who did it in the lone blemish on the Buckeyes’ defensive résumé at Autzen Stadium in October and then again in the playoffs after the game was well in hand for the Buckeyes. Texas has thrived on big plays, ranking second in the country with 30 forced turnovers, mostly coming on 21 interceptions from the Longhorns’ heralded defensive backfield. Both teams rank in the top five in sacks, Ohio State with 47 and Texas with 44.
To win the Cotton Bowl, one team’s offense will have to find ways to crack the imposing eleven lined up on the other side.
Leave It On Quinn
Projected Starters
Ohio State Pos Texas
OFFENSE
WILL HOWARD QB QUINN EWERS
TREVEYON HENDERSON RB QUINTREVION WISNER
JEREMIAH SMITH WR RYAN WINGO
CARNELL TATE WR MATTHEW GOLDEN
EMEKA EGBUKA WR DEANDRE MOORE JR.
GEE SCOTT JR. TE GUNNAR HELM
DONOVAN JACKSON LT KELVIN BANKS JR.
AUSTIN SIEREVELD LG HAYDEN CONNER
CARSON HINZMAN C JAKE MAJORS
TEGRA TSHABOLA RG DJ CAMPBELL
JOSH FRYAR RT CAMERON WILLIAMS
DEFENSE
JT TUIMOLOAU DE BARRYN SORRELL
TYLEIK WILLIAMS DT VERNON BROUGHTON
TY HAMILTON DT ALFRED COLLINS
JACK SAWYER DE/OLB TREY MOORE
SONNY STYLES WLB LIONU LEFAU
CODY SIMON MLB ANTHONY HILL JR.
JORDAN HANCOCK NB JAYLON GUILBEAU
DENZEL BURKE CB JAHDAE BARRON
DAVISON IGBINOSUN CB MALIK MUHAMMAD
CALEB DOWNS FS MICHAEL TAAFFE
LATHAN RANSOM SS ANDREW MUKUBA
Defense always starts with stopping the run, as Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has readily told reporters. But that’s especially apparent for the Buckeyes against the Longhorns.
Texas has run the ball for less than 2 yards per carry in three different games this season – twice against Georgia and in its most recent game against Arizona State. Kelvin Banks Jr. is a future first-round NFL draft pick at left tackle for the Longhorns and right tackle Cameron Williams has a similar stock, but this is a contest where Ohio State’s front six is completely capable of shoving Texas’ offense into a one-dimensional locker.
That one dimension would then be Longhorn quarterback Quinn Ewers, himself a top storyline entering Friday. Ewers spent the first four months of his college football career at Ohio State before transferring to his home-state school. The No. 1 prospect in the class of 2022 who reclassified to the class of 2021 expressed gratitude for that period in his life on Monday.
“Learned a lot while I was there under Coach (Ryan) Day, and C.J. (Stroud), and just that whole room was awesome to be around. Super thankful for that time that I got to spend there,” Ewers said. “So I don’t regret any decision I’ve made on going or anything like that. The main reason I went was I felt like I had a great relationship with the coaching staff and they were winning a lot of games and I wanted to go be a part of something like that. And the reason I came back to Texas was to be closer to where I’m from and just closer to the resources that I have and the relationships that I’ve built over time just being from Texas.”
Ewers has had a good three-year career in Austin, the best statistically being his 2023 campaign when he completed 69% of his passes for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns with six interceptions. His 2024 has been less consistent but still productive with a 66.5% completion rate, 3,189 yards and 29 touchdowns but 11 interceptions. His yards per attempt has dipped from 8.8 to 7.9.
He’s thrown an interception in each of the Longhorns’ last four games but also threw for at least 320 yards in two of their last three. Though Ewers presents some danger, as does 936-yard receiver Matthew Golden, any time Ohio State’s defense can stop the run and laser-focus on the pass one has to like the Buckeyes’ chances with their combination of sticky coverage and daunting pass rush.
Yes, Texas has the No. 1 pass defense in college football and the second-most interceptions in the country this season. No, that doesn’t mean the Buckeyes should abandon the game plan that’s worked so well in the first two rounds of the CFP.
Ohio State came out slinging the pill against Tennessee and Oregon and scored on its opening drive of both games to catalyze 300-yard passing performances from quarterback Will Howard. The Buckeyes needed just three plays to go 75 yards for a touchdown against the Ducks on their first possession, and all 75 came through the air. Their first drive against the Volunteers features five called passes and just one called run to get to the end zone, culminating with a 37-yard scoring bomb to Jeremiah Smith.
The fact is, there might be no defense in college football that can contain Smith, Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate and Ohio State’s passing game when it’s firing. The Buckeyes are fourth nationally in yards per pass attempt at 9.2, and Howard is also fourth nationally among quarterbacks for completion percentage at 72.6%.
Despite their incredible statistical outputs, Texas’ secondary isn’t without scars. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik threw for 336 yards in the first round of the CFP on a respectable 7.8 yards per pass attempt. Arizona State also threw for 296 yards, but at a less desirable rate of 6.2 per toss.
Howard is prioritizing sage decision-making entering the matchup. Joining Barron in Texas’ secondary is another turnover-creator in strong safety Andrew Mukuba, with five interceptions to go with 63 tackles, four tackles for loss and six pass breakups. Free safety Michael Taaffe has racked up 73 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, two sacks, two interceptions and 10 PBUs.
“I think they try to bait you into doing things,” Howard said on Sunday. “I think they try to bait you into pushing the ball into tight windows. And you got to be smart. Playing a defense like this, you have to know when to take those shots and when not to and when to be smart with it. There’s cavities, there’s creases in it. But you have to find them and be patient with it and not force it to happen. Because those guys react quick.”