Cotton Bowl weather threat: Ohio State vs. Texas game update

What we know as Ohio State and Texas prepare to meet in the College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl semifinal game with some winter weather moving into the area.

Where things are with the Ohio State vs. Texas game as winter weather moves into the Dallas area. / Bryon Houlgrave/The Register, Des Moines Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

There are no plans to change the date or time of the College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl semifinal game on Friday between Ohio State and Texas despite the threat of winter weather in the Dallas area in the coming days.

Current weather forecasts project that more than four inches of snow could fall in the Metroplex in the days before the historic football game will kick off.

“We continue to monitor weather reports, and over the last 24 hours, the forecast for later this week has improved according to the National Weather Service,” the Cotton Bowl said in a statement.

“We have been meeting routinely with city officials, the Director of Transportation for North Texas, and the College Football Playoff.

“Should the forecast shift, we are prepared for all contingencies. North Texas highways are already being brined and plans are in place to assure a safe environment for everyone in and around AT&T Stadium on game day.

“The teams arrive [on Wednesday], as planned, and the 2025 CFP Semifinal at the 89th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic will kick off on Friday evening as scheduled.”

That should leave the Buckeyes and Longhorns set to meet at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time and 6:30 p.m. Central time locally on Fri., Jan. 10.

The area around Dallas and Fort Worth has only received at least four inches of snow on three other occasions in the last half-century, according to local weather experts.

Three of those such occasions came in February of 2011 in the days before AT&T Stadium was set to host the Super Bowl game.

Earlier forecasts suggested that the DFW area was set to receive more than eight inches of snow, but those predictions have changed, with meteorologists now expecting about half that amount.

This year’s College Football Playoff already saw one of its games endure a delay, under far more tragic circumstances.

Officials postponed the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal game after a man intentionally drove a truck into a crowd in New Orleans, killing more than a dozen people in what authorities are investigating as an act of terrorism.

That game was pushed back 19 hours to Thurs., Jan. 2. Notre Dame ultimately defeated Georgia, 23-10, to earn a place against Penn State in the Orange Bowl semifinal game.

The winner of the Ohio State vs. Texas game will advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 20.

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