"You got another thing coming" - Greg McElroy sends clear warning to Quinn Ewers & Co. as Texas gears up to face rampant Ohio State

The Texas Longhorns set up a mouthwatering clash against the Ohio State Buckeyes after surviving double overtime against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Peach Bowl. The Cotton Bowl Classic will feature the two highest-ranked teams left in the college football playoffs with a spot in the national championship game on the line.

During Monday's segment of "Always College Football," ESPN analyst Greg McElroy posed the biggest question that will face the Longhorns against the Buckeyes on Friday.

"Can Texas effectively run the football? Trey Wisner, Jayden Blue, we know what this team is all about," McElroy said (29:40). "We know what the scheme evolved into. They're a group that wants to be bada**. We've spent so much time talking about the weapons, spent so much time talking about the quarterback play, Quinn Ewers, the offense, the offensive line, the defensive line, the quarters, covers that they'll play. It really comes down to, can they run the football?"

McElroy further broke down the reasons why the Longhorns would find it hard to run the ball against the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

"And the two games that they didn't run the ball very well, it did not end well for them," McElroy said. "Trey Wisner and Jaydon Blue are gonna have to get there. They're gonna have to get touches, they're gonna have to manufacture to have maybe extended handoffs.

"If you think you're just gonna run it up the gut against Ohio State, I think you got another thing coming. This defense has been too good in the front and center, they're too stout, too physical to anticipate Texas's offensive line just moving them off the football. It's not gonna happen."

Texas warned about Ohio State's potency

Ryan Day's Ohio State Buckeyes are favored by 5.5 points in their Cotton Bowl clash against the Texas Longhorns after smashing the No. 1 Oregon Ducks 41-21 in the Rose Bowl and obliterating the Tennessee Volunteers 42-17 in the first round of the college football playoffs.

During Saturday's segment of the "Yahoo Sports" podcast, analysts Dan Wetzel and Pat Forde warned the Longhorns about the potency of the Buckeyes especially with the talents of wide receiver Jeremiah Smith who has lit up the playoffs.

"I mean, Ohio State is just obliterating teams, good teams," Forde said. "They didn't even need Oregon to turn the ball over or do anything just catastrophically dumb. They just blew past them on offense and smashed them on defense. I could not be more impressed with what Ohio State is doing."

"There's just haymaker after haymaker immediately," Wetzel said. "Bell rings, I'm coming across like a bull and I'm going to deck you. They knocked out Tennessee and they knocked out Oregon. Good luck stopping it. I'm not totally out on Texas being able to do something here but six points, I feel pretty good about that one."

The Ohio State Buckeyes versus the Texas Longhorns is perhaps the heavyweight clash of the college football playoffs with the ultimate prize of a national championship game appearance on the line.