By Jacob Seliga
Lead Writer
The first ticket to the College Football Playoff National Championship game in Atlanta has been punched. Notre Dame defeated Penn State Thursday night at the Orange Bowl in a back and forth affair that had fans around the country at the edge of their seats.
Like the fans, both Texas and Ohio State watched with great interest from Dallas, as both teams finished preparations for a big-time College Football Playoff Semifinal showdown at the Cotton Bowl.
Tale of the Tape
Cotton Bowl: Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2) vs Texas Longhorns (13-2), 5:30 PM, ESPN
Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2) (Losses to No. 1 Oregon, Michigan)
Key Stats:
Rushing Offense: 169.1 yards per game, No. 50 nationally
Passing Offense: 263.4 yards per game, No. 28 nationally
Scoring Defense: 12.1 points allowed per game, No. 1 nationally
Total Yardage: 245 yards allowed per game, No. 1 nationally
Key Players:
Jeremiah Smith (WR): 90 receptions, 1,224 receiving yards, 14 receiving touchdowns,
Will Howard (QB): 3,490 passing yards, 32 passing touchdowns, 165 rushing yards, 7 rushing touchdowns
Lathan Ransom (S): 69 total tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, 2 pass breakups
Ohio State keys to victory:
1. Need to create explosive plays
2. Have to exploit the holes in the middle of Texas
3. Do your job on the defensive line
Texas Longhorns (13-2) (Losses to No. 2 Georgia)
Key Stats:
Rushing Offense: 165.6 yards per game, No. 55 nationally
Passing Offense: 278.4 yards per game, No. 13 nationally
Scoring Defense: 14.5 points allowed per game, No. 3 nationally
Total Yardage: 277.9 yards allowed per game, No. 5 nationally
Key Players:
Colin Simmons (Edge): 44 tackles, 9 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 14 tackles for loss
Matthew Golden (WR): 56 receptions, 936 receiving yards, 9 receiving touchdowns
Andrew Mukuba (DB): 63 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 5 interceptions, 7 pass breakups
Texas keys to Victory:
1. Have to be able to protect Quinn Ewers
2. Be willing to stay on script even if falling behind
3. Have to stay disciplined in the secondary
Prediction: Ohio State 34 Texas 20
All season long, the Texas defense has buckled down and has been one of the premier units in all of college football.
Unfortunately for Texas, however, the Ohio State defense is the best in the country. And offensively, the Buckeyes are led by maybe the best freshman college football has ever seen at the wide receiver position.
The Longhorns path to victory is quite simple, yet is easier said than done.
The offensive line cannot be bullied like they were against Arizona State. The Sun Devils were able to generate three sacks and eight tackles for loss against what was considered one of the best groups in all of college football.
With left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. playing through injury, and Right Tackle Cameron Williams unavailable during last week's game, their ability to stay in this game will be crucial for the Texas offense to be able to do what it needs to.
Ohio State is currently No. 1 in sack percentage, No. 2 in yards per rush and No. 4 overall in rushing yards allowed per game. For Texas to stand a chance in this game, it starts up front.
For Ohio State, the Buckeyes have multiple paths to victory. But for them it all starts with bottling up the Texas duo of running backs, Tre Wisner and Jaydon Blue.
Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers relies on the rushing attack in order to excel in the passing game. And outside of one deep ball early in the Arizona State game, Ewers wasn’t truly effective until the overtime period started.
That’s where Texas will have to try and find a weakness to exploit. In terms of true talent, no secondary in college football may be better than the back half of the Buckeyes defense.
Future first-round draft pick Denzel Burke will likely draw the task of covering Matthew Golden, who has emerged as the most consistent and overall best target for Ewers.
Defensively, the Longhorns have their hands full trying to contain the duo of Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka. In the Rose Bowl against Oregon, Smith and Egbuka combined for 12 receptions, 259 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Their lethal ability to stretch opposing defenses makes the task of All-American defensive backs Andrew Mukuba and Jahdae Barron that much more challenging.
Each postseason, there’s just one team that’s always hitting its stride at the right time and rolls everyone. This year it looks like it may very well be Ohio State after the first two rounds, where the Buckeyes looked like the rightful preseason championship favorite.
Simply put, Texas needs a handful of things to go right to win this game and Ohio State truly only needs one.
The Buckeyes should control this game from the jump on their way to clinching a spot in the national championship and moving on to Atlanta.
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