- What: 2025 NCAAF Cotton Bowl
- Who: Ohio State vs. Texas
- Where: AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas
- When: Friday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET
- How to watch: ESPN
And then there were four. After a great first couple of rounds of the College Football Playoff, we have reached the semifinals round. That's right, Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Notre Dame are the only teams remaining. Come Thursday night too, the Buckeyes will hope to make a statement, as Ohio State is a strong favorite to beat Texas in the 2025 Cotton Bowl. Will they get the job done?
That's what head coach Ryan Day sure is hoping for. Ohio State made a statement in the first round when OSU took down Tennessee in dominant fashion. Then in the quarterfinals, Ohio State cruised to another win, this time against No. 1 Oregon. Because of those two wins, the Buckeyes are feeling quite confident and understandably so.
| Cotton Bowl odds |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State to win | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Texas to win | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over 53.5 points | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 53.5 points | -110 | -110 | -110 |
"Honored to be a part of the Cotton Bowl again," Day said. "Just a tremendous bowl. And I’ve said this many times that the Cotton Bowl does a great job in their hospitality. Everybody there takes a lot of pride in the bowl, and it’s a great setting. Have a great opponent. Have a tremendous amount of respect for Texas, Coach (Steve) Sarkisian, his staff, and the players."
According to the best sports betting sites, Ohio State holds -110 NCAA football betting odds to win the Cotton Bowl and then move on to play in the National Championship Game. As for the Longhorns, Texas holds +125 odds per the best NCAAF betting sites. Will Texas be able to post an upset? We don't think so, as the Buckeyes are our pick.
Driven by strong viewership for the "Grandaddy of Them All" Rose Bowl, ESPN's coverage of the College Football Playoff's four Quarterfinal games averaged 16.9M viewers.
Ohio State's 41-21 win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl drew 21.1M viewers--peaking at 24.3M viewers. pic.twitter.com/iDNxzlkjSu
— Michael McCarthy (@MMcCarthyREV) January 4, 2025
The Buckeyes and Longhorns should cover the over in the Cotton Bowl
When taking a look at both of these offenses, there's no question in our mind that the Buckeyes and Longhorns should cover the over in the Cotton Bowl. Texas is led by Quinn Ewers, while youngster Arch Manning is always for someone to keep an eye on. With a great ground attack too, it's no surprise that Texas has reached this part of the postseason.
On the other side of the field, Ohio State's passing attack has been sensational. Will Howard has looked unstoppable over the past two games, with Jeremiah Smith looking like one of the best freshmen in the country. When those two are on the same page, defenses can't do much to slow them down. Ohio State should have no issues moving the ball against Texas too.
Ohio State star WR Jeremiah Smith was once cut from his youth football team. Now, people are saying he’s the next Randy Moss.
Smith came up big in the CFP quarterfinal against the #1-ranked Oregon Ducks:
🔸7 catches
🔸187 yards
🔸2 TDsSmith just broke the Big Ten freshmen TD… pic.twitter.com/Mcy3iN0apW
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 6, 2025
"Again, our motivation right now is keeping this team together one more week, and then we’ll go from there and figure out what’s next after that," Day said. "But everything else right now is a distraction. Like you said, the leaders are the ones that have to set the pace on this. And when you’re a young 18, 19, 20-year-old person, it isn’t always easy to stay locked in for this long of a time."
Per the oddsmakers, the over/under has been set at 53.5 points. From our chair, we have a feeling that both Manning and Ewers are going to consistently move the ball all over the field. We're sticking with Ohio State as our pick to win this game and we also think at least 54 points will be scored between the two teams. That's right, we're going with the over.
Ohio State is our pick to win the National Championship as well
Should the Buckeyes take down Texas like we think they will, we're going to take things one step further and say Ohio State is our pick to win the National Championship as well. The Buckeyes would await the winner of Penn State vs. Notre Dame for the natty if they take down the Longhorns.
Day, Howard and the other playmakers are ready to make that happen. Per the Las Vegas experts, Ohio State holds -120 odds to win the title, the best odds for all of the teams still left in contention. Keep in mind that Ohio State wasn't even a Top 5 seed when the playoff started.Countless people thought Oregon would take care of business against OSU in the Rose Bowl, but that didn't happen.
Instead, Howard and the offense dominated play. Soon enough, we'll find out if this dream run leads to all of the glory, but we're indeed going with Ohio State as our pick to win it all as well. It will be interesting to see if that happens or not. Looking to bet on the rest of the CFP? Check out the BetOnline promo codes and promotions for a chance to get in on the action.
