Get ready for the Cotton Bowl! Explore our Same Game Parlay Pick for Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Texas Longhorns and elevate your game day experience.
Despite dropping two games in the regular season, the Ohio State Buckeyes are now favored by the college football futures odds to win the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Ohio State is almost a touchdown favorite against the Texas Longhorns after thrashing both Tennessee and Oregon in its first two games. Meanwhile, the Longhorns had to squeak past the Arizona State Sun Devils in double overtime and weren’t overly impressive in their first-round win over Clemon.
Texas Longhorns +6 Ohio State Buckeyes -6 Total 53
Bet the latest NCAA Football odds Right Now!
There hasn’t been any line movement in terms of the side in the Cotton Bowl. Ohio State opened as a six-point favorite and remains such as of Tuesday morning. We have seen the total drop slightly since odds were released last week though as the original CFB betting odds had the total set at either 54 or 54.5 depending on the sportsbook.
Cotton Bowl – Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Texas Longhorns SGP
Ohio State has shown what it is capable of when it is firing on all cylinders. The Buckeyes blew the doors off Tennessee in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup, and they jumped on the No. 1 seed Oregon Ducks early in an eventual rout.
Will Howard had only one 300-yard passing game in the regular season. However, Howard has been lighting it up in the playoffs with two 300-yard games. He has completed 41 of 55 passes for 630 yards with five touchdowns and an interception, helping the Buckeyes score 40+ points in both of their postseason games.
Senior Emeka Egbuka was seen as a potential first-round pick coming into the season, and he has had a solid year for Ohio State. Egbuka has been completely overshadowed by freshman Jeremiah Smith though. Smith has 13 receptions for 290 yards and four touchdowns in Ohio State’s two playoff games, and his route running is exceptional.
Incredibly, the Buckeyes haven’t had a 100-yard rusher since mid-September. Although Ohio State has two excellent running backs in TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, they just haven’t run the ball consistently enough even with Henderson averaging 7.3 YPC and Judkins averaging 5.3 YPC.
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has done an excellent job with Ohio State’s defense over the past three seasons. That’s why the Buckeyes lead the nation in total defense and scoring defense. Sophomore safety Caleb Downs was a unanimous All-American too, so keep an eye on him this Friday night.
Quinn Ewers played well against Arizona State, completing 20 of 30 passes for 322 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. However, Ewers wasn’t great in his three previous games. In those three tilts, he completed a little over 60% of his passes and threw just three touchdown passes compared to four interceptions.
Texas hasn’t been great at running the ball even though the Longhorns have a projected top five pick in left tackle Kelvin Banks. They are averaging just 4.5 YPC with Quintrevion Wisner and Jaydon Blue leading the way. Tight end Gunnar Helm has been Ewers’ favorite target, but Matthew Golden is right behind him. This is a big play passing game as Golden, Isaiah Bond, and Ryan Wingo are all averaging over 16.0 YPR.
The Longhorns have the second-best defense in college football. Texas is allowing 14.5 PPG and 4.1 yards per play. They rank No. 1 in red zone defense and pass defense, as Jahdae Barron was named a consensus All-American. Barron and Andrew Mukuba have been very good cornerbacks, and they can bait quarterbacks into turnovers.
Under has to be the play even with the line moving down a little. These are two elite defenses, and they will show looks that the quarterbacks have yet to see this season. I would love to go against Ohio State here, but the Buckeyes have just looked too good in recent weeks. Texas doesn’t seem to have a clear advantage at any position, and that makes it tough to take the Longhorns even when they will be playing a veritable home game in the Cotton Bowl.
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES -6
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES UNDER 53
Bet the latest NCAA Football odds Right Now!
