ESPN analyst believes the winner between Texas & Ohio State will win the national championship

Ohio State and Texas will square up in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night. The Buckeyes and the Longhorns started the College Football Playoff from the first round and they now have a chance to advance to the championship game with a win at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

ESPN analyst Joe Tessitore believes the winner of the game will go on to win the national championship. Speaking on “The Pat McAfee Show," the analyst offered his view after the host commented on how improved the teams are.

“Notre Dame, a lot better than I ever could imagine,” McAfee said. “Penn State, a lot better than I could have ever imagined. Ohio State, a lot better than I could have ever imagined. Texas, seems that thing. I think this is very well done by CFP to get these four.”

Tessitore expressed his confidence that either Ohio State or Texas will be the eventual champion of the ongoing playoffs.

“[I'm] very intrigued by what we're going to get at the end of this week, but that Texas-Ohio State winner; come out… I'm just telling you, I want both of those rosters. The winner of that game, mark it down.”

Paul Finebaum evaluates Ohio State’s national title chances

Despite some struggles in the regular season, Ohio State has been explosive in the playoffs. The Buckeyes have scored 40 points in both of their games, eliminating Tennessee and Oregon. They have since become the betting favorite for the national championship.

During an appearance on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” on Monday, Paul Finebaum said the Buckeyes must be considered favorites, despite expressing doubts about Ohio State's chances just a week earlier during the CFP quarterfinals.

“You have to take that approach,” said Finebaum. “But it’s, you always get a little nervous jumping on these national narratives because we’re often proven wrong. I was a little bit hesitant on Ohio State last week because, based on their track record.

“It was hard for me to believe they could be as consistent as they turned out to be. But, yeah, right now, you’d have to be in that camp. It would be foolish to say, ‘Oh, no. They don’t look like the better team’ when they’ve been not only the better team.”

Entering the CFP, there were plenty of reasons to be concerned about the Buckeyes. They ended the regular season with a loss to Michigan, leading to a lot of criticism and backlash from fans. However, Ohio State has silenced critics by delivering dominant performances.