Texas football (13-2, 7-1 SEC) will get something adjacent to home-field advantage playing in-state for the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl in DFW this week against the Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2, 7-2 Big Ten).
Head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns are underdogs for the first time this season against head coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes in the Playoff semifinals. Before this round of the CFP, neither Texas nor Ohio State had been an underdog in any game this season.
The Playoff semifinals will see four blue-blood programs square off, with the Penn State Nittany Lions battling the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 9.
This will be the first time since the Longhorns beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys to win the Big 12 Championship in 2023 that Texas plays at the home of the Dallas Cowboys at "Jerry World"/AT&T Stadium.
How to watch Texas vs. Ohio State in the College Football Playoff
- Date: Friday, Jan. 10
- Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
- Venue: AT&T Stadium (Arlington, TX)
- How to Watch (TV): ESPN
- Streaming: fubo TV | ESPN app
- Texas record: 13-2
- Ohio State record: 12-2
Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer, Ian Fitzsimmons, and Quint Kessenich are the broadcast team for ESPN radio.
Texas vs. Ohio State odds, spread and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Moneyline
Ohio State is favored in the moneyline (-235) over Texas (+190).
Spread
The Longhorns are one-score underdogs (-5.5) against Ohio State in the spread for the Cotton Bowl.
Total
53.5 (-110 Over/-110 Under)
Texas injury report
- CJ Baxter Jr., RB: OUT (Knee)
- Velton Gardner, RB: OUT (Undisclosed)
- Christian Clark, RB: OUT (Achilles)
- Derek Williams Jr., S: OUT (Knee)
- Isaiah Bond, WR: Questionable (Ankle)
- Cameron Williams., OT: Questionable (Leg)
Ohio State injury report
- Mason Maggs, QB: Questionable (Undisclosed)
- Josh Simmons, OL: OUT (Knee)
- Seth McLaughlin, C: OUT (Achilles)
- TC Caffey, RB: OUT (Knee)
- Brenten Jones, S: Questionable (Undisclosed)
Texas and Ohio State series history
Texas is 2-1-0 in the all-time series against Ohio State. Former Texas head coach Mack Brown and the Longhorns defeated Ohio State in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, by a score of 24-21, the last time these two teams met on the gridiron.
The Longhorns and Buckeyes also split a home-and-home series in Columbus (25-22 Texas) and Austin (24-7 Ohio State) in the 2005 and 2006 seasons.