12/31/25 03:21:00
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12/31 15:19 CST CFP quarterfinals get started with defending champion Ohio
State against Miami in Cotton Bowl
CFP quarterfinals get started with defending champion Ohio State against Miami
in Cotton Bowl
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) --- Defending national champion Ohio State is back in a
familiar spot at the Cotton Bowl, taking on College Football Playoff
first-timer Miami in the first of the four quarterfinal games.
The third-ranked Buckeyes (12-1, CFP No. 2 seed), again without a Big Ten title
but still with a first-round bye, had 3 1/2 weeks between their 13-10 loss to
undefeated No. 1 Indiana in the conference championship game and the Cotton
Bowl on Wednesday night.
No. 10 Miami (11-2, CFP No. 10 seed) didn't even make the Atlantic Coast
Conference championship game, but the Hurricanes have a five-game winning
streak since an overtime loss Nov. 1 at SMU, less than 25 miles from AT&T
Stadium, the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys where the Cotton Bowl is played.
They also made their CFP debut in the Lone Star State, winning 10-3 at No. 7
Texas A&M in the first round on Dec. 20.
Ohio State is in its third consecutive Cotton Bowl. The Buckeyes lost the first
of those to Missouri when the bowl wasn't a playoff game in 2023, but they beat
Texas 28-14 in a CFP semifinal there last January. They then beat Notre Dame
for the national title.
It was also at AT&T Stadium where Ohio State won the first national
championship game of the CFP era, over Oregon at the end of the 2014 season
when there were only four playoff teams. When the field expanded to 12 last
season, all four teams that had first-round byes lost in the quarterfinal round
after their extended breaks.
The other three quarterfinal games this postseason --- the Orange, Rose and
Sugar bowls --- are Thursday.
Next for the Cotton Bowl winner is a CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8
against No. 3 seed Georgia or No. 6 seed Ole Miss, the SEC teams in the Sugar
Bowl.
There are five first-team AP All-Americans in the Cotton Bowl, four from Ohio
State: Miami native and sophomore receiver Jeremiah Smith, defensive lineman
Kayden McDonald, linebacker Arvell Reese and safety Caleb Downs, who was a CFP
starter for Alabama in 2023 before being part of Ohio State's title last
season. Miami's first-team All-America pick was offensive tackle Francis
Mauigoa.
Both quarterbacks have been part of national championships but neither as a
starter. Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin was a freshman backup behind Will
Howard for Ohio State last season. Miami QB Carson Beck, the transfer from
Georgia, was part of the Bulldogs' back-to-back national titles in 2021 and
2022.
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