- What: 2025 NCAAF Cotton Bowl
- Who: Ohio State vs. Texas
- Where: AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas
- When: Friday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET
- How to watch: ESPN
It's hard to imagine, but there are only four teams left in contention for the 2025 National Championship in the college football world. That's right, Texas, Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame are the last teams standing, with two electric semifinals games on the way. With that said, Ohio State is our pick for the 2025 Cotton Bowl over Texas. Will the Buckeyes pull off the win?
It has been a dream College Football Playoff thus far for Ryan Day and Co. In the first round, Ohio State absolutely dominated Tennessee at The Shoe. Then, they followed that up with a tremendous win over No. 1 Oregon at the Rose Bowl. As you might have been able to guess, Day, Will Howard, Jeremiah Smith and others are quite confident ahead of this dance with Texas.
| Cotton Bowl odds |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State to win | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Texas to win | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over 53.5 points | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 53.5 points | -110 | -110 | -110 |
"Honored to be a part of the Cotton Bowl again," Day said. "Just a tremendous bowl. And I’ve said this many times that the Cotton Bowl does a great job in their hospitality. Everybody there takes a lot of pride in the bowl, and it’s a great setting. Have a great opponent. Have a tremendous amount of respect for Texas, Coach (Steve) Sarkisian, his staff, and the players."
According to the best online sports betting sites, Ohio State holds -110 NCAAF betting odds to come away with a victory. On the other side of the field, Texas holds +125 football betting odds. We think this game could turn out to be pretty dang close, but we think the Buckeyes will be victorious. Look for Ohio State to post yet another convincing win and head to the natty.
Take a look at how Texas and Ohio State's roster talent compares before they meet in the CFP ⭐️👀
Which team is stronger? 💪 pic.twitter.com/Fnvk400gwF
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 7, 2025
The over should hit between the Buckeyes and Longhorns
Elsewhere for this particular contest, we think the over should hit between the Buckeyes and Longhorns. Both Texas and Ohio State have fantastic offenses and both units will look to make things quite tough for the opposing defenses. For Texas, quarterback Quinn Ewers is a stud and he has a rocket for a right arm. He'll look to make a ton of plays for the aerial attack.
As for the Buckeyes, Howard has been nothing short of superb during this CFP run for Ohio State. He was incredible against Tennessee and then he was also superb against Oregon. Smith has cemented himself as one of the best freshmen in the country and he already has NFL fans dreaming of him being a stud wide receiver in the league down the road. Day knows his guys will be ready to answer the call.
Back in the Semifinals 🤘
🏈 Texas vs. Ohio State
📅 Friday, Jan. 10 | 6:30 PM CT
📍 AT&T Stadium | Arlington, TX
📺 ESPN#HookEm | #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/aIlFvASees— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 6, 2025
"Again, our motivation right now is keeping this team together one more week, and then we’ll go from there and figure out what’s next after that," Day said. "But everything else right now is a distraction. Like you said, the leaders are the ones that have to set the pace on this. And when you’re a young 18, 19, 20-year-old person, it isn’t always easy to stay locked in for this long of a time."
Entering play, the over/under for this game has been set at 53.5 points, with -110 sports betting odds for both. While both Ohio State and Texas have plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball, we think this is going to be an offensive shootout in the Cotton Bowl. It will be interesting to see if that happens or not, but we're definitely going with the over as our pick.
Ohio State is also our pick to win the 2025 National Championship
Believe it or not, Ohio State is also our pick to win the 2025 National Championship. About three weeks ago, not many people thought the Buckeyes would even go in any kind of a run in the CFP. Experts thought that Tennessee might be able to upset them in the first round.
That didn't happen. Then in the Rose Bowl, Oregon was a heavy favorite, but OSU didn't care about that at all, as they dominated the No. 1 Ducks. Don't forget that Ohio State lost its regular season finale to Michigan too - plenty of folks thought things would get worse for them in the CFP.
Now, though, this team holds -120 betting odds to win the title, which is the best odds for any team still in contention. Soon enough we'll see if Ohio State can take down Texas. If they get that job done, then they'll face either Penn State or Notre Dame for all of the glory. If that does happen, we think they'll win. Looking to get in on the action? Check the BetOnline sign up bonus as soon as possible to get in on the fun.
