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 national champion Ohio State is trying to win its second consecutive Cotton Bowl, this one a College Football Playoff quarterfinal 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 debut with a 10-3 win at Texas A&M on Dec. 20. The Hurricanes' last nationwide title remained 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 goals, while Tate has 48 catches for 838 yards and 9 TDs even after missing out on 3 video games in November with a leg injury. The Hurricanes have permitted just 11 passing TDs - Ohio State is the nationwide leader at 6, and one of only five teams giving up less. Miami freshman safety 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 considered top edge rush potential customers for the upcoming NFL draft. Mesidor has 7 sacks and 12 takes on for loss. Bain, a second-team AP All-America pick, had 3 of Miami's 7 sacks in the first-round win over Texas A&M.


Ohio State: Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin has actually tossed for 3,323 backyards with 32 TDs and 6 interceptions. The sophomore quarterback is the nationwide leader completing 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 nationwide championship. Ohio State won in double overtime to keep the Hurricanes from winning back-to-back titles. Miami hasn't won one since. ... Hurricanes QB Carson Beck, the transfer from Georgia, has a 35-5 record as an FBS starter. That.875 winning portion is the best for any active player with at least 5 video games. ... Miami RB Mark Fletcher Jr. had a career-high 172 lawns hurrying in the preliminary at Texas A&M. ... Ohio State ranks first or second nationally in 9 different defensive classifications, including No. 1 in scoring (8.2 points a video game) and per video game (129.1 ). ... This is Ohio State's third successive Cotton Bowl appearance. The Buckeyes lost to Missouri two years ago when it wasn't a championship game. ... Ohio State All-America security Caleb Downs is set to be the only player in the country to start in the last three CFPs. He started for Alabama in 2023, and the Buckeyes last season.


Get poll notifies 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