Cotton Bowl: 3 Ohio State weaknesses that Steve Sarkisian should look to exploit in CFP semifinal

Under coach Steve Sarkisian, the Texas Longhorns survived an upset from Arizona State Sun Devils in the Peach Bowl to advance to the Cotton Bowl clash against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The winner will face Notre Dame/Penn State in the national championship game.

3 weaknesses in Ohio State's armor that Steve Sarkisian can exploit in the college football playoffs

#3. Ohio State's O-line weakness

According to On3 statistics, Ohio State's offensive line's ability to handle extra rushers is the team's primary weakness.

The Buckeyes' offensive line is ranked No. 78 in the country, with a 9.2% blitz down sack rate and a 10.2% blown run block rate, putting Ohio State's offensive line at No. 94 in college football, highlighting a flaw in coach Ryan Day's armor that Steve Sarkisian could exploit with his elite defensive Longhorns unit.

#2. Use the 'Michigan Method'

The Michigan Wolverines have been a constant source of headache for embattled Ohio State coach Ryan Day after he lost the latest rivalry game 13-10 despite the Buckeyes being 20-point favorites.

On Friday, On3 analyst Ian Boyd suggested Steve Sarkisian should use the cover 6 defense to contain Ohio State's biggest threats, wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka.

"Employ the Michigan method but use Michael Taafe and Jahdae Barron over Smith while asking Andrew Mukuba to balance the tasks of playing Egbuka inside and coming up late in the run game," Boyd wrote. "Malik Muhammad would draw the other Buckeye wideout on an island all day.

"If that became a problem he could switch with Barron but my guess is Day wouldn’t want to go into a press conference and answer questions about why Smith didn’t touch the ball so I’d rather Barron match him. Texas will want to get the Thorpe winner involved in the game as possible short of asking him to repeatedly check a freak like Smith 1-on-1."

#1. Steve Sarkisian could utilize Arch Manning against Ohio State's defense

The issue of the Longhorns' quarterback situation has long lingered during the college football playoffs. While Quinn Ewers is the undisputed QB1, he struggled in the first three-quarters of the 39-31 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Peach Bowl before shaking off the cobwebs and leading his team to the win to set up the juicy clash against the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes' pass rush defense troubled Vols' Nico Iamaleava and Ducks' Dillon Gabriel sacking them 12 times combined. The Georgia Bulldogs' defense already showed that the pass rush is a chink in Ewers' armor.

Using backup quarterback Arch Manning, who can rush, could expose the Buckeyes' pass rush defense, which was breached when the Oregon Ducks ran the ball in the second half of the Rose Bowl and in the first-round game against the Tennessee Volunteers.

History favors Steve Sarkisian's team with the Longhorns holding a 2-1 advantage in the games against the Ohio State Buckeyes with the last meeting culminating in a 24-21 win in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl.