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The College Football Playoff semis are almost here, and everyone is excited to see the Ohio State football team go up against Texas. The Buckeyes and Longhorns limped into the CFP after Ohio State lost to Michigan to end the year and Texas lost to Georgia, but here they both are with just four teams remaining. The Buckeyes are the favorites in this one and Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is aware that his team has some doubters, but Ohio State head coach Ryan Day knows that this one won't be easy.
Steve Sarkisian is aware that his team has a tough task ahead of them. This Ohio State football team has been dominant so far in the College Football Playoff, and the Longhorns will have to play their best if they're going to come out with a victory.
“I can probably poll everybody in this room, and you'd probably all agree, they're the favorite to win the game,” Sarkisian said, according to a post from Chase Brown. “And that's OK. That's football. That's sport. I'm not gonna back off what I said. The reality is the reality. We have to go perform. That's our responsibility… but they've earned that right because of the way they've played here the past couple of weeks.”
Ryan Day heard those comments from Sarkisian, and he had a response. Day knows that his team was clicking during their two most recent games, but he also knows that doesn't matter for this game. The Buckeyes were clicking coming into the Michigan game, and they still lost. Everything before Friday can be thrown out the window. You still have to show up and play.
“Every single week, the slate is wiped clean, and you have to start from scratch again,” Day said. “That starts with your meetings, your walkthrough and your preparation. The bottom line is, the team that plays the best and executes the best is gonna win the game.”
Based on what has happened so far in the CFP, it makes complete sense that Ohio State is favored over Texas in this one. The Buckeyes had a home game against nine seed Tennessee to get things going in the first round, and they got out to a fast start and blew the Volunteers out of the water.
In the quarterfinals, Ohio State had to go up against the top seed in the CFP: Oregon. Everyone was expecting it to be the game of the playoff as the Ducks narrowly beat the Buckeyes in the regular season, but it ended up being a complete dud. Halfway through the second quarter, Ohio State was up 31-0. The Buckeye cruised to another easy win.
Texas, on the other hand, has had some tough battles in the playoff so far. The Longhorns hosted Clemson in the first round, and after a strong start, the Tigers got back in the game and made it close in the fourth quarter. The same thing happened against Arizona State, and Texas came dangerously close to losing the game. They needed a fourth and 13 conversion in overtime to stay alive.
The Longhorns have been playing with their food a little bit during these first two games. They start strong, but they aren't putting their opponents away. If Texas is going to beat Ohio State, they need to play their best football of the year for 60 minutes.
Ohio State and Texas will kick off the Cotton Bowl at 7:30 ET on Friday night from AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, and the game will be airing on ESPN. Ohio State is currently favored by 5.5 points.
