No. 2 Ohio State heads to Cotton Bowl, will take on winner of No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami

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Opening Odds: Texas A&M -4.5 vs. Miami | O/U 51.5
National Title Odds: Ohio State +250 | Indiana +260 | Georgia +550 | Texas Tech/Oregon +850

The College Football Playoff field is set, and Ohio State is the No. 2 seed following a loss in the Big Ten Championship Game to now-No. 1 Indiana. The Buckeyes get a first round bye before heading to the Cotton Bowl, where they will face off against the winner of Texas A&M vs. Miami at 7:30 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve.

No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Tech round out the team’s who will remain idle in the first round, while No. 5 Oregon, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 8 Oklahoma all get home games to open up this year’s CFP. The Ducks will host No. 12. James Madison, the Rebels host No. 11 Tulane, the Aggies host No. 10 Miami and the Sooners host No. 9 Alabama.

It is a pretty favorable draw for Ohio State, who would avoid playing all three of Indiana, Texas Tech and Oregon until the national title game, should they get there. If the Buckeyes win the Cotton Bowl, they will head to the Fiesta Bowl, where they would likely see Georgia.

Texas A&M did not end its season on a high note, dropping a 27-17 contest against Texas to knock itself out of the SEC Championship Game. Still, the Aggies finished the season 11-1, and for a decent stretch of time there were some arguing that they deserved to be the No. 1 team in the country.

Offensively, Texas A&M is led by quarterback Marcel Reed and a dynamic receiving duo of KC Concepcion and Mario Craver. Reed threw for nearly 3,000 yards this season with 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions, while Concepcion and Craver each totaled more than 800 receiving yards apiece with 13 combined touchdowns.

On the other side of the ball, defensive end Cashius Howell was the star of the show. The former Bowling Green transfer led the Aggies in sacks (11.5) and tackles for loss (14.5) while also sitting second on the team with six pass breakups. Linebacker Taurean York led the way with a team-high 68 tackles, adding 6.5 tackles for loss and a sack as well.

Miami, meanwhile, snuck into the College Football Playoff as a result of its head-to-head win over Notre Dame. The Hurricanes did not play in the ACC Championship Game, but got the nod over the Irish with a 27-24 win in the season opener. Miami finished the year at 10-2, with losses to Louisville and SMU denying them a chance at the conference title.

Quarterback Carson Beck has very similar stats to that of Reed at A&M, throwing for a little over 3,000 yards with 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Former Ohio State commit Mark Fletcher Jr. led the way at running back, totaling 685 yards with 10 touchdowns on 4.9 yards per carry, while freshman receiver Malachi Toney was one of the most electric players in the country, hauling in 84 catches for 970 yards and seven touchdowns.

Miami has a very good defensive line, highlighted by Ruben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor. Mesidor led the way with 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks, while the future first round NFL Draft pick Bain tallied 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks on the year. On the back end, Jakobe Thomas and Bryce Fitzgerald each picked off four passes, with Thomas recording a pick-six in addition to two forced fumbles.

Ohio State, coming off a lackluster performance in the loss to Indiana, is still the betting favorite to win the national title, but the Hoosiers have closed the gap significantly. We will have to wait and see how the Buckeyes respond to their first and only loss of the season, as they will now have more than three weeks to prepare before the Cotton Bowl.

Ryan Day and his staff will find out its opponent in two weeks, as Texas A&M hosts Miami on Dec. 20 at Noon on ABC.

All lines and odds are presented by FanDuel Sportsbook.

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