College football fans are hoping for a second exciting college football semifinal on Friday night as the No. 8 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2) take on the No. 5 ranked Texas Longhorns (13-2) in the Cotton Bowl.
Ohio State reached the semifinal by blowing out the Tennessee Volunteers in the opening round of the playoffs, and the Buckeyes avenged one of their earlier losses by breezing past the Oregon Ducks in the quarterfinals.
Texas had a tougher time making the semifinals. The Longhorns won their opening-round game against the Clemson Tigers by two scores before earning a 39-31 overtime victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils in the quarterfinals.
Will Texas take advantage of their de facto home-field advantage on Friday, or will the Buckeyes continue their dominant ways? We’ll cover that and our three favorite player prop bets for tonight’s college semifinal matchup.
Ohio State has the nation’s most-electric freshman in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. The first-year player exploded against Oregon last week, catching seven passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns.
He’s caught fire in the playoffs, recording over 100 receiving yards in both games. Still, bettors would be wise to take the under on this player prop bet.
Smith should not be busy on Friday night as the Longhorns have struggled as of late against the run, and Ohio State’s running attack is among the nation’s best.
Texas has a balanced offense, running the football more during the 2024 season than its passed. Still, that doesn’t mean the Longhorns aren’t capable of finding holes in their opponent’s secondary that quarterback Quinn Ewers can take advantage of.
The Longhorns signal-caller has completed 66.5 percent of his passes this season for 3,189 yards and 29 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
His offensive line has picked up its pass-blocking protection in recent weeks, allowing him to go over 300 yards in two of the past three games. Expect him to finish near that mark again and cover this player prop bet.
The Buckeyes have a two-headed running back monster with TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins leading the way. Ohio State’s terrific tandom have run for a combined 1,849 yards and 20 touchdowns this season.
The duo has nearly the same yardage despite Judkins earning 52 more carries than his counterpart this season. Henderson’s 7.3 yards per rush is impressive as he’s burned defenses for runs exceeding 20 yards at least eight times this season.
With the Texas defense yielding 214 yards in their last outing, there’s little reason to believe that the Buckeyes will struggle running the football. Expect Henderson to be the beneficiary in Friday’s game, and he’ll cover the 51.5-yard rushing prop bet against the Longhorns.
The weather will not play a factor in the Cotton Bowl as the game is played in AT&T Stadium, a domed facility that serves as the Dallas Cowboys’ home.
That will help the Texas Longhorns as Ohio State would have experience playing in frigid temperatures. Still, there’s little reason to believe the Buckeyes aren’t the better team.
Texas has won both of its contests, but their defense surrendered more than 500 yards to Arizona in its last outing. Expect this game to be a touchdown or more in Ohio State’s favor.