Who is favored to win the Cotton Bowl 2025? Head-to-head, records and more 

With a spot in the Nation Championship Game on the line, the Cotton Bowl will pit the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 5 Texas Longhorns against each other on Friday, January 10 at 7:30 PM ET.

Both teams will arrive in Arlington after wildly different playoff encounters. The Buckeyes easily took care of the top-ranked Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl. They had previously dominated the No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the College Football Playoffs.

The Longhorns meanwhile needed double overtime to defeat the No. 4 Arizona State Sun Devils. In the first round they also struggled to put the No. 12 Clemson Tigers away. Texas will have the benefit of playing in their home state as the game will be held at Arlington, about a three-hour drive from the University of Texas campus.

Who is favored to win the Cotton Bowl 2025?

Despite the game being played in Texas, Ohio State arrives as a -4.5 favorite. The Buckeyes blew the doors open against Oregon and Tennessee right from the start and might have the most talented team left on the field, which helps explain why the Cotton Bowl was handicapped this way.

Ohio State vs Texas head-to-head

Texas survived Arizona State's comeback bid in double overtime. - Source: Imagn

The Buckeyes and Longhorns will face off only for the fourth time, at the Cotton Bowl. Texas holds a 2-1 series edge. All three previous games were played in a four-year span. They split a home and home series in 2005 and 2006, with the visiting team winning each time.

Their most recent matchup came in the Fiesta Bowl in January 2009. The Longhorns won the game 24-21.

Texas has also played in the most Cotton Bowls, as this will be their 23rd trip to the game, where they hold an 11-10-1 record. Ohio State has only played the game three times before, they have a 2-1 record which includes last year’s 14-3 loss to the Missouri Tigers.

Who will start at quarterback for Ohio State?

Will Howard will take the start for the Buckeyes. The former Kansas State quarterback is playing his final season of college football in Columbus. He enters the game with 3,490 yards, 32 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Who will start at quarterback for Texas?

Junior Quinn Ewers will be under center for the Longhorns. Ewers comes into the bowl game with 3,189 yards, 29 scores and 11 interceptions. Even though he didn’t see any action against Arizona State, Texas occasionally uses the more athletic Arch Manning in special packages.