The Cotton Bowl is a regional home game for the Texas Longhorns, with a three-hour drive separating the main campus in Austin from AT&T Stadium in Arlington. But that’s three hours on normal days. Lately, the Dallas-Ft. Worth has been covered in ice and snow, making the area feel far more like Columbus, Ohio.
When it comes to venturing out into the cold and snow, Texans aren’t so keen. This is well beyond their norm, and ticket prices for Friday’s Cotton Bowl have plummeted the previous 48 hours because of it.
For Ohio State fans, the weather will be the great equalizer when it comes to the makeup of the crowd. On the field, the Buckeyes are the clear favorite.
Game Line: Ohio State (-6)
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has his team two wins from the national championship, which is a requirement now since he lost to Michigan yet again. Raising the trophy at the end of the College Football Playoff is the only way he can make up for losing at home to the hated Wolverines.
Ohio State got to this spot by avenging their only other blemish, an early season loss at Oregon by a point. At the Rose Bowl in the CFP quarterfinals, the Buckeyes dominated the Ducks, easily punching their ticket for the next round and establishing themselves as the favorite to win it all. Ohio State is -140 to finish as the national champion.
With lofty expectations come large point spreads, and Ohio State finished the regular season just 6-6 against the spread. However, in the CFP, they have covered in both of their previous games.
The last time we saw Texas, they were hanging on by the skin of their teeth to beat Arizona State in double overtime. They are now hoping that winning the game of the year will propel them into being the best team of the year. And perhaps the best thing to help make that happen didn’t even involve a game they played.
Texas is 13-0 against teams other than Georgia, and 0-2 against Georgia this season. But Notre Dame took out the Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl, removing the Longhorns biggest nemesis from the tournament. A win over Ohio State, and then a win on January 20th against those Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and Texas will be national champions for the first time since Vince Young led an undefeated Longhorns team in 2005.
Texas was 7-6 against the spread in the regular season, and is 1-1 ATS in the CFP.
Ohio State Scoring Props
On its first offensive drive of the game, Ohio State is paying +105 to get a score. They scored a touchdown on their opening possession against Tennessee, and they scored a touchdown the first time they had the ball against Oregon in just three plays. OSU is paying -154 to score the game’s first points.
Ohio State is expected to score plenty of points, with their team over getting into plus money at 31.5 points. At 35.5 points, the over is paying +195.
The total touchdowns line for Ohio State is 3.5, with that over paying -145. The Buckeyes scored five touchdowns in the Rose Bowl. OSU pays even money to score first and then win the game.
Texas Scoring Props
If Texas scores on its first offensive possession, the payout is +155. They are -220 to fail to score any points the first time they have the ball. They did score a touchdown on their first offensive possession against Arizona State, as well as the game before that against Clemson. Texas is +120 to score the first points of the Cotton Bowl.
The betting market is less bullish on the Texas offense, and they get into plus money at over 24.5 points. Those payouts escalate per point, getting to +185 if the Longhorns go over 28.5.
Texas scored five touchdowns against Clemson and five against Arizona State. However, only three of those came in the first four quarters. Their over/under on touchdowns in the Cotton Bowl is 2.5. Under 2.5 pays +120. A bet on Texas to score the first points of the game and go on to win is paying a generous +300.
Winning Team Margins
Ohio State
To win by 1-6 points (+360)
To win by 7-12 points (+450)
To win by 13-18 points (+550)
To win by 19-24 points (+800)
Texas
To win by 1-6 points (+500)
To win by 7-12 points (+800)
To win by 13-18 points (+1300)
To win by 19-24 points (+2200)
With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.
