Ohio State vs Texas Picks and Prediction – 1/11/2025

Beautiful AT&T Stadium will play host to the second College Football Playoff Semifinal on Friday night, when the Ohio State Buckeyes square off against the Texas Longhorns in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The eighth-seeded Buckeyes (12-2) were left for dead after a regular season home loss against Michigan, but are now the betting favorites to win the National Championship. In the Rose Bowl presented by Prudential, Ohio State scored 34 unanswered points to start the game and coasted to a 41-21 victory against Oregon. 

Ohio State freshman WR Jeremiah Smith looked unstoppable with 187 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Treveyon Henderson contributed 94 rushing yards on just eight carries and hit paydirt twice. Will Howard threw for 319 yards and three scores for the Buckeyes, who racked up 500 yards of total offense. 

The Texas Longhorns were the only team with one loss during SEC Conference play, but fell short in the conference championship game against Georgia. The fifth-ranked Longhorns (13-2) rank third nationally in total defense and are limiting their opponents to 14.5 points per contest. In the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Texas blew a 16-point fourth quarter lead before prevailing against Arizona State in double overtime by a 39-31 final score. 

Texas trailed 31-24 in the first overtime period and were facing a fourth down when Quinn Ewers found Matthew Golden on a 28-yard touchdown strike. Ewers connected with Gunner Helm on the first play of double overtime for the winning score and finished with 322 passing yards. The Longhorns were outgained by a 510-375 margin and allowed the Sun Devils to possess the ball for nearly 38 minutes. 

There have been just three meetings all-time between these two schools, with Texas winning twice. These two teams rely heavily on defenses that finished in the top three nationally, so the under is worth a look. The stronger play is on the Longhorns to cover the number. Final Score Prediction, Ohio State Buckeyes win 27-24.