The College Football Playoff championship game is set.
Thanks to Ohio State’s 28-14 win over Texas on Friday night, the Buckeyes are on their way to the championship game where they will face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
They will have a chance to become the second consecutive Big Ten team to win it all.
Here are some takeaways from their big Cotton Bowl win on Friday night.
Knee-jerk reaction: Ohio State looks like the best team in the country
Yes, the Buckeyes lost two games this season.
Yes, they had horrible vibes coming into the playoffs after losing to Michigan in the regular-season finale and missing out on a chance to win the Big Ten.
To say they rebounded from that would be a laughable understatement. After completely dominating Tennessee and Oregon in the first two rounds of the playoffs, Ohio State delivered another emphatic win in the semifinal over another top team.
While the outcome might have still been in doubt late in the fourth quarter as Texas had the ball with a first-and-goal trailing by only a touchdown, it never really felt like Texas was going to win. The Buckeyes dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and had it not been for some careless self-inflicted penalties that hurt them in field position to stall drives, this game could have easily gotten out of hand.
Through three playoff games, Ohio State played the No. 1 (Oregon), No. 3 (Texas) and No. 7 (Tennessee) teams in the CFP rankings. It won all three games by a combined score of 111-66. That is impressive. It should also have Notre Dame fans concerned.
Game MVP: Jack Sawyer, defensive end, Ohio State
Ohio State’s defense limited Texas to just 14 points and team captain Jack Sawyer played a significant role in that.
He also made a player that will forever be remembered by Ohio State fans with his sack, scoop-and-score in the final two minutes to put the game away.
