On New Year’s Eve, Penn State grew to become the primary group to lock up a spot in a College Football Playoff semifinal when it beat Boise State 31-14 within the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Texas wanted double additional time to flee a gritty Arizona State group 39-31 on New Year’s Day and advance to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, the place it should face Ohio State on Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Penn State, which has but to path in a CFP sport, will face the winner of Notre Dame–Georgia within the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The College Football Playoff Quarterfinal on the Allstate Sugar Bowl was postponed till 4 p.m. ET on Thursday after a lethal truck assault in New Orleans that killed at the least 15 and injured dozens extra.
While Penn State awaits its opponent, this is an early have a look at the semifinal matchup between Texas and Ohio State. — Heather Dinich
When: Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN
What we discovered within the quarterfinals: Texas has gone via fairly an id disaster over the previous six weeks on offense. The Longhorns went from dashing domination of their remaining two regular-season video games, to not with the ability to run within the SEC championship, again to dashing domination within the first spherical in opposition to Clemson, again to struggling on the bottom in opposition to Arizona State. So which Texas dashing assault will present up in opposition to Ohio State? There is little question that Texas will want a much bigger dashing effort to beat the Buckeyes. Perhaps offensive deal with Cameron Williams will probably be wholesome sufficient to play and can assist make a distinction. Either manner, we discovered that Texas nonetheless has work to do to place collectively an entire offensive efficiency.
X issue: TE Gunnar Helm. Texas likes to make the most of its tight ends within the offense Steve Sarkisian runs, and Helm got here up big within the win over Arizona State, with three catches for 56 yards — and the game-winning landing in additional time. Helm was massive within the opening-round win over Clemson, too, with six catches for 77 yards and a rating. Sarkisian praised him main into the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, saying, “The multiplicity of the issues that the tight finish has to do in our programs make him extraordinarily useful. When you could have a great one, I believe that that makes our lives rather a lot simpler from a playcaller perspective.”
How Texas wins: Texas has been ranked the No. 1 protection within the nation for the majority of the season for a cause, and we noticed that for giant swaths of its win over Arizona State. The Longhorns should proceed to set the tone up entrance and get after Will Howard to make him uncomfortable. Michigan offered the blueprint for successful in November, when it dominated the Buckeyes on each traces of scrimmage. Texas actually has the potential to try this with its defensive and offensive fronts. But the Longhorns should completely be higher on their offensive line to have any shot to win. They have been overwhelmed at occasions by a smaller Arizona State defensive entrance. — Andrea Adelson
What we discovered within the quarterfinals: No one can cease Jeremiah Smith, and by extension, the Ohio State offense. Against an Oregon group that defeated them in October, the Buckeyes got here out of the gates on the Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential able to show the Ducks did not have their quantity. Thanks to Smith, who caught 5 balls for 161 yards and had two landing receptions of 40-plus yards within the first half alone (he completed with 187 yards), Ohio State appeared to be taking part in at a special velocity, as Oregon appeared helpless on either side of the ball. The freshman vast receiver was a blur, dashing previous the Ducks’ secondary with ease whereas making his case for being not simply the very best freshman within the nation — or the very best vast receiver — however top-of-the-line gamers within the sport. It helped that just about each Ohio State talent participant who touched the ball discovered gold — operating again TreVeyon Henderson averaged double-digit yards per carry whereas including two touchdowns, and vast receiver Emeka Egbuka added his personal great play in a 42-yard landing seize within the first half. It was all a reminder that the very best model of this Buckeyes group would possibly simply be unstoppable.
X issue: RB TreVeyon Henderson. Texas’ protection might need no alternative however to promote out to cease Smith, and although Smith would possibly nonetheless get his, it should actually open issues up for different wideouts on the Buckeyes’ offense along with Henderson. The senior has not been significantly splashy this season, however he has been constant. In Pasadena, nonetheless, he seemed pretty much as good as ever, recording his first 100-yard sport of the season. There’s no query that Ohio State’s air sport is its energy, but when it may possibly pair it with extra constant operating from Henderson, the Longhorns may have a troublesome time on protection.
How Ohio State wins: Short of doing precisely what they did to dominate Oregon in Pasadena, the Buckeyes have a transparent recipe for fulfillment now. The confidence they inherited from avenging their loss to the Ducks ought to be sufficient proof that they’ve the expertise and execution to beat any group remaining, particularly Texas. A wholesome dose of Smith will probably be important, and the stout protection that has had extra sacks than every other playoff group to this point might want to stress Quinn Ewers, however rather a lot will definitely fall on Will Howard‘s shoulders. In the Rose Bowl, Howard seemed as comfy as he has seemed all season lengthy. He had no essential errors, threw three landing passes and located Smith again and again to a lot success. He’ll should do extra of the identical within the Cotton Bowl. — Paolo Uggetti
