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- What: 2025 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
- Who: Ohio State vs. Texas
- Date: Friday, January 10, 2025
- Location: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: ESPN, ESPN+
The College Football Playoff Semifinal game, the 2025 Cotton Bowl, takes place on Friday, January 10, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The annual NCAA bowl game features a matchup between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns. Ohio State wrapped up the 2024 NCAA football season as the No. 8 team. Meanwhile, Texas was the No. 5 squad. The winner of this game moves on to face the winner of the Orange Bowl matchup between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Penn State Nittany Lions in the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship.
Ohio State began the College Football Playoffs with a 42-17 win over the Tennessee Volunteers. The Buckeyes followed that victory with a 41-21 win over the No. 1 ranked Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl.
Texas opened the playoffs by beating the Clemson Tigers 38-24. The Longhorns then bested Arizona State 39-31 in double overtime to win the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
These teams have played three times. Texas has a 2-1 advantage over Ohio State in those matchups. The most recent meeting between the schools was in January 2009, with Texas winning 24-21 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
Before we look at the betting odds, picks, and predictions for the 2025 Cotton Bowl between Ohio State and Texas, check out our best NCAA football betting sites and where you can find the betting odds for the 2025 national championship.
2025 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic betting picks
| To Win 2025 Cotton Bowl |  |  |  |  |
| Ohio State | -240 | -235 | -235 | -232 |
| Texas | +200 | +195 | +200 | +185 |
| Over 53 Points | -110 | -115 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 53 Points | -110 | -105 | -110 | -110 |
2025 Cotton Bowl: Ohio State betting breakdown
Ohio State finished 2024 as one of the top offensive teams in the Big Ten. The squad was fourth in the conference in yards per game, averaging 432.5. As for its passing game, the Buckeyes averaged 263.4 yards per outing, which was third-best in the Big Ten. The team’s rushing yards per game was also fourth in the conference, with an average of 169.1 yards per game.
Senior quarterback Will Howard was second in the Big Ten in passing yards on the year with 3,490. Howard had a completion percentage of 72.6 percent with a conference-leading 32 touchdowns. Howard threw nine interceptions on the year. Ohio State had two of the top 10 receivers in the Big Ten, with Jeremiah Smith leading the conference with 1,224 yards. Emeka Egbuka was seventh in the conference with 896 yards. Smith was also tops in touchdowns with 14. The Buckeyes had two running backs who came close to gaining 1,000 yards, with Treyvon Henderson picking up 925 yards and Quinshon Judkins with 924 yards. Ohio State averaged 36.4 points per game..
As strong as the Ohio State offense was, the Buckeyes defense was statistically better, leading the Big Ten in points allowed (12.1), yards allowed (244.6), and sacks (47). Ohio State allowed the fewest passing yards per game in the conference with 152.4 while giving up the third-fewest rushing yards (92.2). Cody Simon led the team in tackles with 92.
Ohio State ended the 2024 regular season with a loss to Michigan. The team has looked focused and dialed in since that 13-10 setback, and they will be hard to beat at the Cotton Bowl.
2025 Cotton Bowl: Texas betting breakdown
The Texas Longhorns were one of the better teams on offense in the SEC in 2024, finishing the year as the fourth most productive squad with an average of 443.9 yards per game. The team had the fourth-best passing game in the conference, with an average of 278.5 yards per outing while adding 165.5 yards on the ground. The Longhorns’ 34.3 points per game were third-most in the conference. Junior quarterback Quinn Ewers picked up 3,189 yards passing on 270 attempts for a completion average of 66.5 percent. Ewers had 29 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. Quintrevion Wisner led the team in rushing with 1,018 yards and five touchdowns, while Matthew Golden was the team’s best receiver with 56 receptions for 936 yards and nine touchdowns.
Like Ohio State, Texas excelled on defense, allowing the second-fewest points per game in the SEC with 14.5 per game. The team also had the second most sacks in the conference with 44 while leading the conference in fewest yards allowed per game with 277.9. Texas gave up 166.1 yards passing and 111.8 rushing. Anthony Hill Jr. was tops in tackles for the Longhorns with 107, while Jahdae Barron and Andrew Mukuba each had five interceptions, which was tied for most in the SEC.
Like Ohio State, Texas lost their final game of the season, falling 22-19 in overtime to Georgia. The Longhorns have looked good in the two playoff games, but they’ll need to be almost perfect to beat Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
Best Bets: 2025 Cotton Bowl
Ohio State is the more complete team heading into the Cotton Bowl, and they are playing better on both offense and defense. With that, they have a little more wiggle room than Texas to make some mistakes and correct them. Ohio State doesn’t have that luxury. The betting pick is for Ohio State to beat Texas in the 2025 Cotton Bowl.
Both these teams are excellent on offense and defense, but the pick is that Ohio State and Texas will combine to score over 53 points in the Cotton Bowl.
See below the top offshore sportsbooks where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
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