Defending National Champion Ohio State Faces CFP 1st-time Miami In

No. 10 Miami (11-2, CFP No. 10 seed) vs. No. 2 Ohio State (12-1, CFP No. 2 seed), Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EST (ESPN)


BetMGM Sportsbook College Football Odds: Ohio State by 9 1/2.


Series record: Ohio State leads 3-2.


Defending nationwide champ Ohio State is attempting to win its second successive Cotton Bowl, this one a College Football Playoff quarterfinal video game after it was a CFP semifinal last January when the Buckeyes beat Texas. This is the seventh CFP look for Ohio State, which got a first-round bye in the 12-team field even after a loss to undefeated No. 1 Indiana in the Big Ten national championship. Miami made its CFP launching with a 10-3 win at Texas A&M on Dec. 20. The last nationwide title was in the 2001 season. The winner advances to the CFP semifinals to play the Sugar Bowl winner, No. 3 seed Georgia or No. 6 seed Ole Miss, in the Fiesta Bowl.


Ohio State receivers All-America sophomore Jeremiah Smith and senior Carnell Tate versus the Miami secondary. Smith has 80 catches for 1,086 lawns and 11 touchdowns, while Tate has 48 catches for 838 backyards and 9 TDs even after missing three games in November with a leg injury. The Hurricanes have actually allowed only 11 passing TDs - Ohio State is the national leader at 6, and one of only five groups offering up less. Miami freshman security Bryce Fitzgerald had 2 interceptions versus Texas A&M and is tied for the P4 lead with 6.


Miami: Defensive ends Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor are both thought about leading edge rush potential customers for the upcoming NFL draft. Mesidor has 7 sacks and 12 deals with for loss. Bain, a second-team AP All-America pick, had three of Miami's seven sacks in the first-round win over Texas A&M.


Ohio State: Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin has actually thrown for 3,323 backyards with 32 TDs and six interceptions. The sophomore quarterback is the national leader finishing 78.4% of his passes (279 of 356). He was Will Howard's backup for last season's champion team.


The only other time these teams fulfilled in the postseason was in the Fiesta Bowl in January 2003, which was for the national championship. Ohio State won in double overtime to keep the Hurricanes from winning back-to-back titles. Miami hasn't won one given that. ... Hurricanes QB Carson Beck, the transfer from Georgia, has a 35-5 record as an FBS starter. That.875 winning portion is the very best for any active player with at least five games. ... Miami RB Mark Fletcher Jr. had a career-high 172 backyards entering the preliminary at Texas A&M. ... Ohio State ranks very first or 2nd nationally in 9 different protective categories, consisting of No. 1 in scoring (8.2 points a game) and passing backyards per video game (129.1 ). ... This is Ohio State's third consecutive Cotton Bowl look. The Buckeyes lost to Missouri two years ago when it wasn't a playoff game. ... Ohio State All-America safety Caleb Downs is set to be the only gamer in the nation to begin in the last 3 CFPs. He started for Alabama in 2023, and the Buckeyes last season.


Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Register here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football