Ohio State Buckeyes are Starting to Feel Inevitable

The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl, and now, it's starting to feel inevitable that they will beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the National Championship Game.

Jan 10, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) points toward the Texas Longhorns defense during the fourth quarter of the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

It wasn't easy for the Ohio State Buckeyes, and honestly, that was probably a good thing.

After dismantling both the Tennessee Volunteers and Oregon Ducks in their first two College Football Playoff games, Ohio State entered its Cotton Bowl matchup with the Texas Longhorns as the heavy favorite. And in the end, the Buckeyes did win by two touchdowns.

But this matchup was a heck of a lot closer than the final score indicated.

Heck, at one point, it looked like the Buckeyes were on the ropes. When Texas tied the game at 14 apiece in the third quarter, Ohio State appeared to be in serious trouble.

The offense had stalled. The defense looked tired. Freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith was all but invisible. Will Howard was starting to look frazzled.

But somehow, some way, the Buckeyes found a way to win, making numerous key stops and getting an enormous strip sack from Jack Sawyer that he returned 83 yards for a touchdown.

Ohio State certainly did not play its A-game in this one. This wasn't Tennessee, and it wasn't Oregon. The Buckeyes committed nine penalties, they blew several coverages, they dropped touchdown passes and they looked out of sorts for a good portion of the evening.

Yet, this team is so talented, so tough, that it managed to snatch a victory, even with Smith—Ohio State's most explosive player—logging just one catch for three yards.

It has gotten to a point where Ohio State is feeling inevitable. It may have just absorbed the best shot it's going to take.

And that's no disrespect to Notre Dame, who the Buckeyes will be facing in the National Championship Game on Jan. 20. But let's be real here: Ohio State is the more talented team, and everything we said about the Buckeyes in the preseason is starting to come to fruition.

If someone would have told you that Smith would have less receiving yards than tight end Will Kacmarek, would you have thought Ohio State was going to beat Texas?

Well, that happened, and the Buckeyes still found a way to win, thanks to a gritty performance by Howard and some timely plays on both sides of the ball.

Ohio State has come this far. It just seems hard to imagine that the Buckeyes are going to be denied.