Defending National Champion Ohio State Faces CFP 1st-time Miami In

No. 10 Miami (11-2, CFP No. 10 seed) vs. No. 2 Ohio State (12-1, CFP No. 2 seed), Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)


BetMGM Sportsbook College Football Odds: Ohio State by 9 1/2.


Series record: Ohio State leads 3-2.


Defending national champion Ohio State is trying to win its 2nd consecutive Cotton Bowl, this one a College Football Playoff quarterfinal video game after it was a CFP semifinal last January when the Buckeyes beat Texas. This is the seventh CFP look for Ohio State, which got a first-round bye in the 12-team field even after a loss to unbeaten No. 1 Indiana in the Big Ten national championship. Miami made its CFP launching with a 10-3 win at Texas A&M on Dec. 20. The Hurricanes' last national title was in the 2001 season. The winner advances to the CFP semifinals to play the Sugar Bowl winner, No. 3 seed Georgia or No. 6 seed Ole Miss, in the Fiesta Bowl.


Ohio State receivers All-America sophomore Jeremiah Smith and senior Carnell Tate against the Miami secondary. Smith has 80 catches for 1,086 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Tate has 48 catches for 838 and nine TDs even after missing 3 video games in November with a leg injury. The Hurricanes have actually allowed just 11 passing TDs - Ohio State is the nationwide leader at 6, and among only 5 teams giving up less. Miami freshman security Bryce Fitzgerald had 2 interceptions against Texas A&M and is tied for the P4 lead with 6.


Miami: Defensive ends Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor are both considered leading edge rush potential customers for the upcoming NFL draft. Mesidor has seven sacks and 12 takes on for loss. Bain, a second-team AP All-America choice, had three of Miami's seven sacks in the first-round win over Texas A&M.


Ohio State: Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin has tossed for 3,323 yards with 32 TDs and six interceptions. The sophomore quarterback is the national leader completing 78.4% of his passes (279 of 356). He was Will Howard's backup for last season's champion team.


The only other time these groups satisfied in the postseason was in the Fiesta Bowl in January 2003, which was for the championship game. Ohio State won in double overtime to keep the Hurricanes from winning back-to-back titles. Miami hasn't won one because. ... Hurricanes QB Carson Beck, the transfer from Georgia, has a 35-5 record as an FBS starter. That.875 winning portion is the best for any active gamer with at least 5 games. ... Miami RB Mark Fletcher Jr. had a career-high 172 backyards rushing in the preliminary at Texas A&M. ... Ohio State ranks very first or second nationally in 9 various protective categories, consisting of No. 1 in scoring (8.2 points a game) and passing backyards per video game (129.1 ). ... This is Ohio State's third consecutive Cotton Bowl look. The Buckeyes lost to Missouri two years ago when it wasn't a championship game. ... Ohio State All-America security Caleb Downs is set to be the only gamer in the country to start in the last 3 CFPs. He started for Alabama in 2023, and the Buckeyes last season.


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