No. 2 Ohio State will begin its quest for a second consecutive national title in Dec. 31’s Cotton Bowl against No. 10 Miami. The Hurricanes secured their spot in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals with a road victory versus 10-seed Texas A&M in the first round. The winner will advance to the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Arizona to play No. 3 Georgia, No. 6 Ole Miss or No. 11 Tulane. Ohio State and Miami are no strangers to monumental postseason bouts. The Buckeyes and the Hurricanes most notably battled for a national championship in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State captured its only national title of the Jim Tressel era by emerging victorious from a 31-24 double overtime thriller. The Buckeyes remain one of college football’s hegemons, thanks in large part to their ability to stack talent and develop elite players. They finished the regular season with a 12-0 record and won all but one of those games by at least two possessions before suffering their first setback in the Big Ten Championship Game against top-seeded Indiana.
Miami, meanwhile, made its College Football Playoff debut with a 10-2 regular season record. Saturday’s 10-3 win against Texas A&M gave the Hurricanes their first College Football Playoff/New Year’s Six victory and their first 11-win season since 2003. It also snapped an eight-game losing streak versus AP Top 10 teams.
What to know about Ohio State Ohio State looks like it’s ready to make another deep playoff run. The Buckeyes are coming off their first loss of the season to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game, but there’s no doubt that they tout arguably the most talented roster in America. Maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise for a program that has won at least 11 games in each full 12-game season since the start of the Ryan Day era in 2019. While there’s star talent on both sides of the ball, Ohio State’s defense has hit another level this season. That’s a horrifying thought for opponents, given how good the Buckeyes have been at squashing offenses in recent years. But new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s NFL philosophy has meshed well on a defense stocked with future NFL talent. The Buckeyes are the…
Try WordAi Free
2025-12-20 21:19:02
