How are sports fans reacting to the College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl Classic between Ohio State and Texas?

While this year’s Ohio State-Notre Dame title game is between two Midwestern stalwarts, take heart: both teams have Texans who have made lasting impacts on their 2024 seasons.

Hoping to vie for a national championship, the University of Texas faces Ohio State Friday night in Arlington in the semifinal of the College Football Playoff. Why it matters: Win or lose, the Longhorns under head coach Steve Sarkisian are relevant once again.

Here's what to know about the series history between Ohio State and Texas -- including all-time meetings and record -- ahead of Friday's CFP semifinal game:

Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins (1) runs against Texas defensive back Malik Muhammad (5) during the second half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025.

The National Weather Service in Dallas/Fort Worth is predicting between 2 and 5 inches of snow across Northern Texas.

It's been 20 years since the Longhorns have won the football national championship and the team and its fans will have to wait another season before getting their next shot.

If Ohio State wants to walk out of the Cotton Bowl with a win over Texas, they'll need to expose this fatal flaw in the Longhorns.

In the quarterfinals, Ohio State had to go up against the top seed in the CFP: Oregon. Everyone was expecting it to be the game of the playoff as the Ducks narrowly beat the Buckeyes in the regular season, but it ended up being a complete dud. Halfway through the second quarter, Ohio State was up 31-0. The Buckeye cruised to another easy win.

The two most recent Buckeyes victories came in 2022 and 2023. Ohio State won 21-10 in ’22 and then scored with one second left in South Bend to grab a 17-14 victory last season. The Irish had only 10 players on the field on the winning 1-yard touchdown run, leaving a bitter taste in the team’s mouth.

Ohio State is trying for its sixth title, and first since its 2014 team won the inaugural CFP. Notre Dame is going for its 12th title, and first since 1988.