The Ohio State Buckeyes and Texas Longhorns are set to clash in the College Football Playoff Semifinal, kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday night.
The Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2 overall; CFP No. 8 Seed) will face the Texas Longhorns (13-2; CFP No. 5 Seed) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas for the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal during the 89th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday, Jan. 10.
The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST / 7:30 EST with ESPN broadcasting the game nationwide.
The victor moves on to the 2025 CFP championship game on Monday, Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, facing the winner of the Thursday night Orange Bowl featuring Notre Dame and Penn State.
All four teams remaining in the race secured victories in their first-round CFP home games and subsequently overcame higher-seeded rivals in the quarterfinals at the four bowl locations.
Ohio State has a record of 2-2 when facing SEC-member schools in CFP matchups: a victory of 42-35 against No. 1 Alabama in 2014; a defeat of 52-24 to No. 1 Alabama in 2021; a loss of 42-41 to No. 1 Georgia in 2022; and a 42-17 win over No. 9 Tennessee on Dec. 21 at Ohio Stadium.
Ohio State and Texas start the 2025 season on August 30 at Ohio Stadium.
Ohio State and Texas have faced each other on three occasions. Two of the three matchups were decided by a single score: Texas triumphed in 2005 at Ohio Stadium, 25-22; Ohio State prevailed in Austin in 2006, 24-7; and Texas claimed victory at the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, 24-21.
Excluding the abbreviated 2020 Covid-19 season, Ohio State has achieved 12 straight seasons with a minimum of 11 wins … the longest streak in the country. Georgia ranks second with seven straight seasons of 11 wins.
6 of 11: Ohio State has reached the College Football Playoffs for the sixth occasion in the 11 years of the CFP’s history. Head coach Ryan Day is the sole active coach to have guided his team into the CFP four times since 2019.
31st: Ohio State has achieved 31 seasons with 10 or more wins in its history, ranking fourth in major college football history. Head coach Ryan Day is in his sixth season as a coach, having led five such seasons prior.
JT, JACK AND ASSOCIATES
The defensive line of Ohio State has achieved 30.5 out of the team’s 47 quarterback sacks this season, with JT Tuimoloau topping the list at 10.0 sacks. Next is Jack Sawyer with a total of 8.0 sacks. The 47 sacks place them third in the nation and are tied for second in Ohio State’s history with the teams from 1998 and 2000. The single-season sacks record for Ohio State is 54, set by the team in 2019.
This CFP semifinal match marks Ohio State’s fourth appearance at the Cotton Bowl.
The Buckeyes have a 2-1 record in Cotton Bowls, having defeated Texas A&M, 28-12, to end the 1986 season (the game took place on Jan. 1, 1987) and USC, 24-7, following the 2017 season, with a loss to Missouri last year, 14-3.
OHIO STATE 3-1 AT AT&T STADIUM
Ohio State holds a 3-1 record in matches played at AT&T Stadium, featuring a victory against Oregon in January 2015, 42-20, to claim the first College Football Playoff title after overcoming Alabama in the first round, 42-35.
Other games played by Ohio State at AT&T Stadium include a 24-7 victory against USC in 2017, a 40-28 triumph over TCU in 2018 when Ryan Day served as the interim head coach, and last year’s defeat against Missouri.
Ohio State is competing in the College Football Playoffs for the sixth occasion since the CFP era began in 2014.
Ohio State is the sole university to feature in four out of the last six CFPs.
Ohio State ranks third all-time in CFP appearances, following Alabama (eight appearances) and Clemson (seven).
Georgia and Oklahoma complete the Top 5 with four CFP appearances each.
Ohio State claimed the first College Football Playoffs title in 2014 and has a historical record of 5-4 in CFP matchups.
OHIO STATE BALANCES BOWL RECORD
The victory against Oregon at the Rose Bowl has balanced Ohio State’s historical bowl game record to 26-26.
The extensive history of Ohio State football officially comprises 52 earlier bowl games, beginning with the 1921 Rose Bowl and featuring 12 different bowls, including 38 games hosted at the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Cotton, Orange, and Peach bowls, respectively.
OHIO STATE’S CFP TO DATE
Ohio State has quickly taken 14-0 and 21-0 first quarter leads against Oregon and Tennessee, while the defense has managed to force three-and-outs on each opponent’s initial two possessions.
Ohio State has accumulated 973 offensive yards in the two games, averaging 318.0 passing yards and 168 rushing yards per game.
The defense has permitted only 266.0 yards per game in the CFP, featuring -23 rushing yards by Oregon and 201.5 passing yards per game.
Cody Simon has topped the team in tackles in each game, recording 12 against Tennessee and 11 against Oregon.
Will Howard has averaged 315 passing yards over the two games, recording five touchdowns and one interception.
Jack Sawyer has deflected five passes at the line of scrimmage and has achieved 3.5 QB sacks.
JT Tuimoloau has recorded 5.5 TFLs across the two CFP matchups, with 4.0 of those being sacks.
The defense restricted the Ducks to minus-23 yards rushing: the least amount of yards permitted in 55 years, since the 1969 squad limited Northwestern to minus-29 yards.
Ohio State matched its season record with 13 TFLs against Oregon, while the eight QB sacks marked a season high and were the most for the team in 48 games, since achieving 10 against Akron in 2021.
The most recent instance of Ohio State recording at least eight sacks against a Power 4 team was in 2017 when they achieved eight sacks against USC at the Cotton Bowl.
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