How to Bet Ohio State vs. Texas: CFP Semifinal Prediction
The Buckeyes are priced as 6-point favourites on the NCAAF odds and a total of 53.5.
College Football Playoff Semifinal: Cotton Bowl Betting
The winner of this game faces the winner of Thursday’s Orange Bowl matchup between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 6 Penn State in the national championship game on Jan. 20. Either the Buckeyes or Longhorns would be favoured in that. Currently, OSU is the -130 national title favorite, and it beating Notre Dame is the favoured +250 exact result in the final. If Penn State and Ohio State win, we’d have a regular-season Big Ten rematch of a 20-13 Buckeyes road win on Nov. 2.
Texas is +425 to win it all and is in the semifinals for the second straight year after losing to Washington in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2024. That was when Texas was still a Big 12 school, but it’s now in the SEC. If Texas loses here or in the final, it would mark the first back-to-back seasons since 2004-05 without an SEC national champion in football.
There is one major player tie here: UT starting QB Quinn Ewers, a likely 2025 first-round NFL pick, transferred from Ohio State a few years ago but only took two on-field snaps for the Buckeyes. What else do these programs have in common? They are the wealthiest athletic departments in college sports.
UT’s Steve Sarkisian and OSU’s Ryan Day are seeking their first national championship as head coaches. It’s the fourth all-time meeting between the programs with UT leading 2-1 but all three taking place the between 2005-2008 seasons. Ohio State is set to host Texas in the 2025 regular season opener on Aug. 30.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Maybe the best thing to happen to Ohio State was to be stunned in the regular-season finale by Michigan. At the time, that looked like a devastating loss as it cost the Buckeyes a spot in the Big Ten title game and possible first-round playoff bye … but teams that had a first-round bye went 0-4 in the CFP quarterfinals. OSU has looked like the nation’s best team in this playoff, thumping No. 9 Tennessee, 41-17, in Round 1 and then routing No. 1 Oregon, 41-21, in the quarters – payback for a one-point loss at the Ducks during the regular season. QB Will Howard has been terrific in the two games with a combined 630 yards passing and five scores. Howard transferred in this season and went 0-3 against Texas while at Kansas State in the Big 12. It’s OSU’s sixth appearance in a CPF semifinal and seeking its third appearance in a championship game (2014, 2020). The Buckeyes lead the nation in scoring defence at 12.1 PPG. They are 4-0 SU & ATS in their past four vs. ranked teams.
Texas Longhorns
The only two losses for Texas this season in its first year in the SEC were both to Georgia, including in the conference title game. Otherwise, the Horns have largely dominated. They had little trouble in Round 1 of the playoff with a 38-24 win over No. 12 Clemson but were pushed some in the semifinals, a 39-31 double-OT win over No. 4 Arizona State. UT blew a 24-8 lead with about seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. All due respect to Clemson and ASU, they are not in Ohio State’s class. QB Quinn Ewers has five TD passes on the season, five shy of the school record set by Colt McCoy. The Horns are seeking their first national title game appearance since 2009 when they lost to Alabama. Texas is also an excellent defensive team, ranking fourth nationally in allowing 14.5 PPG. It’s UT’s first game as an underdog since the second game of the 2023 season at Alabama when UT won. But the Horns are 1-4 ATS in their past five games away from home, which includes failing to cover 13.5 vs. Arizona State.
OSU
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