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Stephen A. Smith Is Scared Texas Will Get Blown Out By Ohio State

College Football Playoff semifinal matchup could get ugly, according to ESPN pundit.

Kyle Koster

Stephen A. Smith on the latest in college football.
Stephen A. Smith on the latest in college football. / First Take on X
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New Year's Day offered two vastly different College Football Playoff games as Texas needed a do-or-die fourth down conversion in overtime to squeak past Arizona State while Ohio State mopped the Rose Bowl turf with Oregon. The Buckeyes and Longhorns will square off in the semifinals of the first-ever 12-team tournament on Jan. 10 in the Cotton Bowl in what figures to be exactly the type of high-stakes tilt between two storied programs everyone's been clamoring to see.

Considering that all the CFP contests except for one has been a blowout, there's some genuine hunger for a competitive game. On First Take this morning, Stephen A. Smith threw some water on rising hope of a four-quarter thriller by sharing that he's concerned about what the Longhorns will bring to the table if they can't tighten up their operation.

"Texas has looked sloppy," Smith said. "I think that they've played below expectations and I'm not going to lie to you. I pray that I'm wrong. I'm scared they're going to get blown out. I'm scared that Ohio State is going to blow them out."

When Stephen A. speaks about college football, the world listens. Especially about Ohio State. And Texas has been a bit sloppy. But this is a Buckeyes team that scored 10 points against Michigan at home not too long ago—a team the Longhorns crushed in Ann Arbor back in September.

They play the games because anything can happen. By that logic there are countless things to worry about. A sloppy Texas getting boatraced is one of them. Worrying about it from afar won't have any impact so here's hoping Smith can get to a place of optimism about this being a fun, competitive contest.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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