What Are They Saying? 'Experts' Make Texas Longhorns vs. Ohio State Predictions

The Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes will meet in the Cotton Bowl, where the winner will advance to the national championship.

Harrison Reno | 9 Hours Ago

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian embraces Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe (16) as they celebrate their win in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Arizona State at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 1, 2025. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

With kickoff from the Cotton Bowl between the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Semifinal, predictions are filing in.

From fans and analysts alike. We already know how the oddsmakers feel about the matchup, with Vegas naming the Buckeyes as six-point favorites over the Longhorns. However, how are the experts feeling about this game?

Well, we've gathered the predictions from a few different analysts, and as we've found it seems the predictions are fairly one-sided.

Josh Pate

Sticking with his preseason prediction, where he predicted the Buckeyes to beat the Longhorns - in the national championship game however - Pate has Ohio State making it through.

"If Texas is about to pull this off, let me just put it this way, it will not be a situation where Texas wins the game and then afterward you hear a lot of scuttlebutt from big football brains that say 'oh I could have told you, ...'" Pate said.

Every coach I talk to thinks this is a double-digit win for Ohio State, ..." Pate continued. "I couldn't find any traction in the coaching community that thinks Texas is about to win this. So in the words of what's that dude's name in Titance who said 'if that's the way the rats are going it's good enough for me.'"

Joel Klatt

Fox Sports announcer Joel Klatt walks across the field prior to the NCAA football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The former Colorado quarterback and now-turned Fox Sports analyst is picking the Buckeyes to win despite the fact that the Longhorns potentially have a home-field advantage in Dallas.

"If he (Ohio State QB Will Howard) continues to play well, they will win the game, and maybe by a large margin," Klatt said. "Even though this game is in Dallas, I don't see this Ohio State team taking their foot off the gas.

"The dominoes that have to fall over for Texas are, to me, just too many. Whereas Ohio State, they've got a lot of paths to victory here. ... Ohio State is playing the best football of anybody in the country. They've got a great roster, and if they play like that at all, they should win this game. I like Ohio State in this game, 34-21."

Stephen A. Smith

He may not be the conventional source for predictions about an upcoming college football game. However, we've included ESPN's debate personality because of his previous take regarding Ohio State's head coach Ryan Day.

Just weeks after saying that Day should be fired if the Buckeyes lost to Tennessee following their fourth straight loss to Michigan. He now has the Buckeyes winning it all.

"I got them (Ohio State Buckeyes) winning the national championship now because I think they're the superior team, and they're rolling," Smith said.

David Pollack

Despite no longer being with ESPN as an analyst on College Gameday, Pollack continues to cover college football with his own YouTube channel. During a recent edition of Pollack's show, he gave his prediction for Friday's game.

"I got 34-21 Ohio State," Pollack said. "Michigan happened and these dudes got in the lab."

Kickoff inside AT&T Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday, January 10.