Ohio State football can taste it now. The Buckeyes are four quarters away from capturing their ninth national championship. They're rolling after pulling away from Texas in the Cotton Bowl Friday and will be the favorite to surpass Notre Dame.
There should be zero concerns for Ohio State against the Fighting Irish, right? Absolutely not, when you dive back into the Buckeyes' last game.
The Longhorns may have fallen short. But Texas exposed some flaws on Ohio State's side.
The Buckeyes may look like a team of destiny during this march to the national title. But make no mistake about it: Ohio State comes with big dilemmas down in Atlanta. Here's the biggest concerns on the Buckeyes' side.
Texas unveiled the blueprint on how to bottle Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith

The Longhorns heard all the chatter about how unstoppable Jeremiah Smith was. The explosive freshman shredded Tennessee and Oregon for a combined 13 catches, 290 yards and four touchdowns in the College Football Playoffs.
Texas, however, bottled him to a stunning one catch, good for only three yards. How did Longhorns defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski cage the monster who's tormented defenses?
Kwiatkowski bracketed Smith with not one, but three different defenders. Furthermore, Texas made sure there was a safety over the top of Smith, which got identified by ESPN's Jordan Reid.
Texas handed Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman the blueprint on how to contain Smith. It doesn't help OSU and Smith that Freeman is a defensive whiz. Freeman looks guaranteed to roll out a similar philosophy and make Smith work for his receptions and yards.
Ohio State's running game faces another stout run defense

Smith wasn't the lone Buckeyes star who struggled against Texas. The ground attack didn't fare much better. The Longhorns sealed off running lanes and forced OSU to average only 3.4 yards per carry. Quinshon Judkins scored both his rushing touchdowns from inside the 10-yard line.
Texas surrendered an average of 109.6 rushing yards per game to opponents, including allowing only 3.2 yards per carry. Notre Dame's run defense isn't far off.
The Fighting Irish have allowed 3.7 yards per carry. Opponents only muster an average of 133 yards per game against ND.
Penn State watched its duo of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton combine for 166 yards. But like Judkins, Singleton scored all his touchdowns at a short distance of inside 10 yards.
Yet, Freeman's defense delivered a more stout outing against Georgia. Not a single Bulldogs player scaled past 39 rushing yards. Indiana was another high-octane offense that struggled with establishing the run against the Irish.
This is a ND run defense that, like Texas, will make opponents work for their yards after taking the handoff. Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson and company are due for a rigid night facing this run defense.
Notre Dame's Riley Leonard rediscovered passing touch

Irish quarterback Riley Leonard produced his worst passing outing of the season in the Sugar Bowl. But Notre Dame still won by a double-digit margin against Georgia.
Leonard looks like he rediscovered his passing touch in the Orange Bowl. He returned from a scary head ailment to lead the opening second half scoring drive. And his first pass sailed 36 yards to Aneyas Williams to ignite the third quarter surge.
The dual-threat passer threw his biggest completions during the second half, leading to the 27-24 victory. He's now facing a Buckeyes pass defense that struggled when Quinn Ewers had time to throw.
The Texas QB watched five of his wide receivers snatch at least one reception of 22 yards or more. The Buckeyes, though, managed to take advantage of a struggling offensive line by sacking Ewers four times.
Ohio State can still turn to its rival Penn State's plan of attack on Leonard. The Nittany Lions tussled him down for five sacks. But the last thing OSU wants to see is a red-hot Leonard, especially on the aerial side.
Will Howard's ball security

Will Howard has this offensive engine humming. But the Buckeyes QB nearly came out with a multiple turnover game versus Texas.
He fired one interception toward David Gbenda, then nearly lost a fumble. He can't ill afford to lose the ball multiple times against this defense.
He also needs to avoid becoming the latest star QB to struggle against ND. This defense prevented Drew Allar from throwing one touchdown pass and allowed only 135 yards to the PSU star. Georgia's Gunnar Stockton fumbled twice and lost one to ND, while finishing with -23 rushing yards. Indiana's Kurtis Rourke took three sacks, one interception, and topped at just 215 yards against this defense.
Howard must do more than play mistake free. He must take care of the football to increase Ohio State's chances of winning.