Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
TV/Radio: ESPN/1410
Series history: Texas leads 2-1 with win at Ohio Stadium and in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl.
Last meeting: Colt McCoy hit Quan Cosby for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left as Texas rallied to beat Ohio State 24-21 in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. McCoy threw for 414 yards and two touchdowns while Todd Boeckman and Terrelle Pryor combined to complete 10 of 25 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown for the Buckeyes. Ohio State had a 203-72 advantage in rushing yards, and Pryor caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Boeckman.
Coaches: Ohio State’s Ryan Day is 68-10 overall and 46-5 in the Big Ten in six seasons, all at Ohio State. Steve Sarkisian is 38-16 in four years at Texas and 85-51 in 11 seasons total as a head coach.
Ohio State notes: Ohio State is 2-1 in the Cotton Bowl with wins over Texas A&M to conclude the 1986 season and USC (2017) before losing to Missouri last year… The Buckeyes are 27-26 all-time in bowls… Ohio State has 973 yards in two CFP games… Ohio State leads the nation in scoring defense (12.1 points per game), total defense (244.6 yards per game) and passing defense (152.4 ypg.)… Ohio State is making its sixth College Football Playoff appearance. The Buckeyes also made it in 2014, ’16, ’19, ’20 and ’22… Senior Emeka Egbuka needs eight catches to match K.J. Hill’s Ohio State career record of 201, and Egbuka is 146 yards behind Michael Jenkins for the career yardage record… Ohio State is 2-2 against SEC teams in the CFP, beating Alabama in the semifinals in 2014, losing to Alabama in the 2020 National Championship Game, losing to Georgia in the 2022 semifinals and beating Tennessee in the first round this season.
Texas notes: The Longhorns have played in the most Cotton Bowls of any program (23), but they have not been in the game since beating LSU 35-20 in 2003.. Texas has four national award winners: OL Kelvin Banks Jr. (Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award), safety Jahdae Barron (Jim Thorpe Award) and DE Colin Simmons (Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year)… The Longhorns are second in the nation with 21 interceptions… Texas is 122nd in the nation in net punting (35.4 yards per net punt)… The Longhorns are third in the nation in red zone defense but 95th in offense.
Quoted: Sarkisian on Ohio State::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. This is the best team in college football, and we’re going to have to make sure that we put our best forward to give ourselves a chance to win the game.”
Prediction: Ohio State 27, Texas 13
Next week: The winner will play in the National Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20.
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