Wednesday night's Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve feels like it is heavy in favor of the Buckeyes, but only one problem: it's on New Year's Eve.
The Ohio State Buckeyes almost put together a perfect 2025 season. Head coach Ryan Day and his squad rolled through their schedule and met very little resistance along the way.
Week after week, they pounded their opponents, both teams on their same skill level and teams below them. They did what good teams do: they left nothing to chance.
Then, in the Big Ten Championship game, they were upended by the Indiana Hoosiers in a game that, if it were played 10 times, the Buckeyes probably win six of the games.
The fallout from that game cost the Buckeyes a chance to play in the Rose Bowl, again, and more importantly, forced them to play on New Year's Eve. Why is that important? It's just another day, right?
Wrong.
In the 13-year history of the College Football Playoff, the Ohio State Buckeyes have never won on New Year's Eve. They have appeared on the day twice in the past decade plus, and both times they came up short.
The program's first opportunity at it was in 2016 when they caught a red-hot Clemson team that gave the Buckeyes some pretty good work. The final score in that game was 31-0, and the Buckeyes never really stood a chance.
They got their chance at revenge in 2022 against the Georgia Bulldogs, and that night was one that Buckeyes everywhere want to forget. It was an instant classic game that went back and forth all night.
Ohio State had a chance to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired while the real clock simultaneously struck midnight. Noah Ruggles lined up for a 50-yard kick, and it never even had a chance. The Buckeyes were outscored 18-3 in the final frame and gave up a chance at the National Championship.
As they turn their attention to tonight, the Buckeyes are by far and away the better team, at least on paper. Miami may have a couple of individual matchups that they have the advantage in, but by and large, the Buckeyes have all of the pieces to win this football game.
Their only task now is to go out and do it.
The Buckeyes are -9.5 favorites over the Hurricanes, who are coming in off a weird but gritty victory over the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station. That game proved that they are ready to fight and they will fight for 60 minutes.
Ohio State must be ready to do the same so that they can snap this ugly streak that they are on.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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