Cotton Bowl Set
Ohio State will face Miami in the Cotton Bowl after the Hurricanes beat Texas A&M, 10-3.
Ohio State’s quest to win its fourth national championship of the 21st century will start with a game against the team it beat to win its first national title of the millennium.
The second-seeded Buckeyes will face No. 10 seed Miami in the Cotton Bowl after the Hurricanes beat No. 7 Texas A&M, 10-3, in the first round of the College Football Playoff at Texas A&M’s Kyle Field on Saturday.
In a defensive struggle where neither team scored in the first half, Miami scored the game’s only touchdown on an 11-yard run by wide receiver Malachi Toney with 1:49 to play. Former Ohio State running back commit Mark Fletcher was the Hurricanes’ best offensive player, running for 172 yards on 17 carries including a 56-yard run to set up Toney’s touchdown, while Miami’s defense made 10 tackles for loss with seven sacks. Bryce Fitzgerald made two interceptions, including one in the end zone with 24 seconds left to play to seal victory for the Hurricanes.
Miami enters the Cotton Bowl with an 11-2 record while the Buckeyes are 12-1, suffering their only loss of the season to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game after an undefeated regular season.
Ohio State opened as an 11.5-point favorite on FanDuel Sportsbook, though the line quickly dropped to 10.5.
The Cotton Bowl will be the sixth all-time meeting between Ohio State and Miami. The Buckeyes have a 3-2 all-time record against the Hurricanes. Most famously, Ohio State upset “The U” in the national championship game for the 2002 season, outlasting the Hurricanes in a double-overtime thriller to complete the first 14-0 season in college football history.
Ohio State, which had a first-round bye into the CFP quarterfinals, will be playing in the Cotton Bowl for the third year in a row. The Buckeyes beat Texas, 28-14, in a CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl last season before going on to beat Notre Dame in the national championship game. Ohio State lost to Missouri, 14-7, in a non-playoff Cotton Bowl in 2023. The Buckeyes have a 3-1 all-time record in the Cotton Bowl.
The 2025 Cotton Bowl will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The game will be televised by ESPN.
