The College Football Playoff quarterfinals provided many intriguing matchups on Wednesday as the Texas Longhorns survived a difficult fourth quarter and defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils in double overtime. Meanwhile, the Ohio State Buckeyes completely dominated the Oregon Ducks. Now, fourth-ranked Texas and sixth-ranked Ohio State will meet in the Cotton Bowl in the semifinals.
On Thursday’s edition of “First Take,” the Longhorns appeared and host Stephen A. Smith let it be known that he doesn’t feel like the Longhorns will make it to the national championship game as they have a tough matchup with the Buckeyes.
“They were careless. As formidable as (ASU running back Cam Skattebo) was, he’s just a guy and he gave you nightmares…Based on the carelessness I’ve seen in Texas, I’m afraid they’re Ohio State the is going to destroy,” Smith said.
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According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Buckeyes (12-2) are six-point favorites with more than a week to go until the Cotton Bowl, which will be played on January 10.
How did Quinn Ewers do in the College Football Playoff against Arizona State?
While there were some questions about how quarterback Quinn Ewers was doing in the big Texas Longhorns game, he stepped up and finished 20 of 30 (66.7%) for 322 yards with three touchdowns to one interception and added a rushing touchdown.
There were some tough decisions, like the pass that ended up being intercepted and some plays. However, it is difficult to call Ewers for the works. On “The Colin Cowherd Podcast,” former NFL scout John Middlekauff said he wasn’t very impressed with the outing even though the score looked good.
“This is a national championship roster without a national championship quarterback,” Middlekauff said.
In analyzing the game, Ewers made mistakes, but right now all Texas (13-2) needs to do is survive and advance.
Edited by Joseph Schiefelbein.