The Ohio State Buckeyes and Texas Longhorns square off in the second semifinal of the College Football Playoff on Friday night.
The pregame narrative: Ohio State is the odds-on favourite to win the national championship, and I’m backing them to get one step closer against Texas. I also have plays on star receivers Jeremiah Smith and Matthew Golden in this +295 Cotton Bowl SGP.
Check out my Ohio State vs. Texas same-game parlay predictions for the semifinal CFP matchup on Jan. 10.
Ohio State vs. Texas predictions
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Parlay: Ohio State moneyline + Golden over 59.5 receiving yards + Smith over 74.5 receiving yards (+295)
Ohio State moneyline (-245): It’s clear that Ohio State is the class of college football, and has been since its shocking 13-10 defeat to the Michigan Wolverines on Nov. 30.
The page has been turned, and they have been dominating strong competition since then, outscoring No. 7 Tennessee and No. 1 Oregon by a combined 45 points in the CFP.
The Buckeyes have game-changers on both sides of the ball and the numbers back it up.
- No. 11 in scoring offence
- No. 1 in scoring defence
- No. 1 in total defence
This game is being played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Longhorns will get the home crowd bump but that’s not steering me away from, in all aspects, the superior team.
Other parlay picks
Golden over 59.5 receiving yards (-134): Matthew Golden had himself a day against Arizona State last week.
He had seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown in the double-overtime thriller, ending the Sun Devils season.
The Houston Cougar transfer has cleared this mark in six of his last nine games after a slow start to the 2024 season. He’s carved out a very respectable 936 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 16.7 yards per reception.
This is Golden’s biggest game of his young career, and the Longhorns will need him to shine if they have National Championship aspirations in mind.
If the Buckeyes jump out to an early lead, Golden should see increased looks from Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Smith over 74.5 receiving yards (-190): Jeremiah Smith might be the most electric player in college football, and we still get two more years of him at Ohio State.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound freshman had 1,224 yards and 14 touchdowns on the year. Both of which led the Big Ten Conference.
Smith has gone over 100 receiving yards three times in the last five games and five times this season. He’s proven to be quarterback Will Howard’s No. 1 option when a big play is needed.
The star wide receiver caught seven passes for 187 yards last week, and this one may have been the most impressive.
Barring an Ohio State blowout, Smith should be a large part of the Buckeye’s offensive plan.
Picks made at 2:45 p.m. ET on 01/08/2025.
