By DaVince “Dino” Wright
Welcome to the Semifinals
The new playoff format this season has the country in a big buzz. Adding more teams to the playoff format allows conference champions, at-large bids and teams with winning records a shot at winning it all. The semifinal is basically the final four: #8 Ohio State Buckeyes take on #5 Texas Longhorns while #7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on #6 Penn State Nittany Lions. Both games will be close from start to finish and the team that controls the clock and establishes the run will move on to the championship game. This is exciting just thinking about it.
How They Got Here
#5 Ohio State took #1 Oregon to the woodshed on New Year’s Day. Keep in mind that the Ducks were undefeated and beat Ohio State earlier this year. Ohio State got their revenge right when they needed it. They beat Oregon by 20 points. The #5 Longhorns went to double-overtime with Arizona State. Arizona was the surprise team of the Big 12 and gave Texas all they could handle. The Longhorns needed some heroics and divine intervention. Ultimately Texas sealed the deal on a 4th quarter interception by Texas defensive back Andrew Mukuba. Football fanatics are basically calling this the national championship game.
Game Info
#8 Ohio State Buckeyes vs #5 Texas Longhorns
Friday – January 10 – 6:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
AT&T Stadium – Arlington, TX
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#8 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2 Big Ten)
The Buckeyes are 4-1 in their last 5 games with wins over Northwestern, Indiana, Tennessee and Oregon. Their only loss in that span was to Michigan in their annual showdown. The Buckeyes are led by senior quarterback Will Howard who has 3490 passing yards with 32 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He has weapons on the offensive side of the ball that can take it to the house on any given play. They average 34.5 points per game. Howard will be the x-factor for the Buckeyes in this game. Players to watch: RB Treveyon Henderson, WR Jeremiah Smith, LB Cody Simon and CB Denzel Burke.
#5 Texas Longhorns (13-2 SEC)
The Longhorns defense showed up when they really needed them the most in their last game. The Longhorns defense is only giving up 14.5 points per game. Texas will need to apply pressure to the Buckeyes offensive line. The x-factor will be LB Anthony Hill. He has 7.5 sacks with 4 forced fumbles and 1 interception. Players to watch: QB Quinn Ewers, RB Quintrevion Wiser, RB Jaydon Blue, WR Matthew Golden, and DB Jahdae Barron.
Prediction
ESPN has the Longhorns with a 50.7% chance of winning the national championship in the new playoff format. The over/under is 53.5, so take the over and the line is OSU -6. I’m taking the Longhorns by 6! This game will so close that it will come down to the last 2 minutes of the ball game. The winner of this game will be the national champions!
Final Score
#5 Longhorns – 37
#8 Buckeyes – 31
