Watching Ohio State steamroll through the College Football Playoff makes you wonder if Ryan Day is Emperor Palpatine from “Return of the Jedi.” After seeing Ohio State bumble its way to a truly confounding home loss to Michigan, the Buckeyes have rebuilt their death star and now we are all witnessing the firepower of a fully armed and operational battle station. After utter demolitions of Tennessee and Oregon, Ohio State opened as a clear favorite against Texas for the semifinal.
How to watch Texas vs. Ohio State
The Buckeyes beat Tennessee 42-17 in the first round and led 21-0 inside the first 12 minutes of the game, but that game was in Columbus, and Tennessee had shown some flaws throughout the season. What Ohio State did to previously undefeated Oregon in the Rose Bowl was truly jarring. The Buckeyes led 34-0 in the first half against a team they lost to earlier this season, which leads to the question: Just how different is this Ohio State team from what it was earlier in the season?
Texas will find out and hope to avoid the early knockout blows Ohio State has delivered in both Playoff games. The Longhorns have also gotten off to big first-half leads in both Playoff games but have had much closer wins. Texas saw Clemson and Arizona State score first before the Longhorns built multiple-score leads by halftime. The Sun Devils came back from 16 points down in the fourth quarter to force overtime eventually and had Texas one play away from losing.
Ohio State entered the season with arguably the best roster on paper. For the last two games, when it has mattered most, it has finally looked like that.
Texas’ defense has been better than Oregon’s throughout the season, but Ohio State also sliced through Tennessee’s elite defense. Plus, the Longhorns just got outgained 510-375 by ASU. Texas hadn’t allowed even 400 yards to an opponent before that game.
It’s hard not to talk about Ohio State’s offense after what it has done in the last two games. Jeremiah Smith has looked like an NFL receiver playing against college players (and you’re probably sick of hearing that he’s still only a freshman). That said, these were the two best-scoring defenses in the country before the quarterfinals. That’s why the point total is a modest 54.5.
These two prestigious programs have met three times, all coming in the last 20 years. They split a home-and-home series in 2005 and 2006, with the road team winning both times, and Texas won the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, 24-21.
This is a quick return to the Cotton Bowl for Ohio State, which lost to Missouri in last season’s edition. The stakes are extremely different this time around. That game was a New Year’s Six bowl (a concept that disappeared with the Playoff expanding to 12 teams), and this is a national semifinal, but the venue and the name of the game are the same.
The spread opened at 4.5 and it jumped two points quickly.
Texas vs. Ohio State odds
Expert picks against the spread
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(Photo of Jeremiah Smith: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
