CFP Semifinals: Texas Battles Ohio State In Cotton Bowl, While Notre Dame And Penn State In Orange Bowl Fight
The College Football Playoff semifinals are upon us, and they feature superpowers from across the country.
Penn State and Notre Dame will tee it up Thursday night in Miami Gardens, Florida, in the Orange Bowl. Penn State is fresh off a relatively smooth win over Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, while Notre Dame dominated SEC stalwart Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
On Friday night we will be treated to an SEC/Big Ten battle between the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes have cruised through the first two rounds of the playoffs, while the Longhorns outlasted Arizona State in the Peach Bowl last week in a double-overtime thriller.
Outkick writers Trey Wallace and Barrett Sallee make their picks for the two biggest games of the season.
Trey: 50-18 straight up, 34-34 against the spread
Barrett: 49-19 straight up, 37-31 against the spread
Notre Dame (-1.5) vs. Penn State
WALLACE: Are you ready for an old-fashioned street fight in Miami? Coming off the dominating win over Georgia last week, Notre Dame is looking like a team ready to hoist the national championship trophy in Atlanta. But first, Riley Leonard and Marcus Freeman must get by a pesky Penn State team with a lethal combination on offense. While the Irish will try and stop Tyler Warren down the field, it will be Drew Allar's job to find him roaming the secondary.
Can the Nittany Lions stop the Notre Dame rushing attack? I don't think Penn State can stop all facets of this Fighting Irish offense. Hopefully Jeremiyah Love is a full-go at running back, as I'd hate to see him miss this game.
I'm going with Notre Dame to cover, and win outright, sending the Fighting Irish to the college football playoff title game in Atlanta.
SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 18: Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman is all smiles after a touchdown during a game between Wake Forest University and University of Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium on November 18, 2023 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Miller/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
SALLEE: This one will be a rock fight between two teams who thrive in low-scoring slugfests. I’ve called Notre Dame the "best boring team in the country" for the last two-plus months, and they will move on in what will be a treat for old-school football fans.
The Fighting Irish defensive front will wear down the Nittany Lions late in the game, force quarterback Drew Allar into one or two critical mistakes and lead coach Marcus Freeman’s team to the title game.
Ohio State (-5.5) vs. Texas
WALLACE: I hope Texas has come up with a defensive gameplan to stop the Buckeyes from throwing the ball all over the field on Friday night. This one is going to come down to whether Quinn Ewers can keep this Longhorns offense in the fight. If Will Howard and Ohio State start hitting Texas with the one-two punch of its rushing attack, while getting Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith scorching-hot down the field, this could turn into a Texas shootout.
The problem is that I don't know if the Longhorns offense can keep up, if their defense has an off-night. While I think this will be a good game that goes to the fourth quarter close, the Buckeyes have done nothing but put up impressive offensive numbers over the past two games.
Ohio State wins, but doesn't cover the spread. This one is decided late in the fourth quarter.
SALLEE: This one will get ugly … very ugly. I don’t care about the Longhorns’ home-state advantage, because they don’t come close in the "offensive prowess advantage." The Buckeyes will make this one a track meet led by wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka, and Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers won’t be able to keep up. Take the Buckeyes, lay the points and expect a double-digit win.
There you have it, our CFP semifinal picks, with just three games left in the 2024 season. Soak it up, because we are just eleven days away from crowning a national champion.