Written by Garin Turner
In what will be talked about for a while, neither the Big Ten or the Pac 12 will be represented in the College Football Playoffs this year. Despite winning their conference championship games this weekend. No. 5 Ohio State will take on No. 8 USC in the 82nd Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas Dec. 29, at 7:30 PM CST on ESPN.
The Buckeyes defeated previously unbeaten Wisconsin Badgers 27-21 last night in the Big Ten Championship game. Meanwhile, on Friday night The Trojans beat Stanford 31-28. Instead of taking either Ohio State or USC, the CFP choose two SEC teams in Georgia who won their conference championship game and Alabama who did not play in the game. Oklahoma and defending national champion Clemson take up the final spots.
This game may very well come down to which team can move on from being left out and focus on a strong finish with a bowl win. With the storied history between both of these schools, it should not be a problem as this has the makings of a good game.
"Well, I think the first thing that sticks out to me is the quality of opponent that you're going to get to face. And being -- having a chance to go to a great city like Dallas, Texas, and be part of an historic bowl like the Cotton Bowl. That's not too hard to get fired up for. It's USC versus Ohio State. That alone is going to excite your football team. These are two programs that got a lot of pride and want to do well for their fan bases. And to have that opportunity to compete against a great football team, a Big Ten championship football team, I don't know how much more exciting you can get than that," USC head coach Clay Helton said.
Ohio State is 22-25 all-time in bowl games. The Buckeyes have won three of its last four. This will be their first time in the Cotton Bowl since 1987 when they defeated Texas A&M 28-12. The Trojans hold the edge in the all-time series against the Buckeyes 13-9-1 including seven straight wins. The last meeting was in 2009 when the Trojans came away with an 18-15 victory.
For the Trojans, this is only their second Cotton Bowl trip. In 1995 USC won 55-14 against Texas Tech. Both USC and Ohio State rank in the Top 10 in all-time victories (834 for USC, and 897 for Ohio State).
For head coach Urban Meyer, this is his sixth straight bowl game coaching the Buckeyes. He's currently 3-2. This is the fourth consecutive year that Ohio State will be playing in a New Year's 6 game. They came away with victories in the Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and a CFP National Championship.
"I sent out a group text. We got in real late last night, and I'm going to be on the road recruiting. But I saw a couple of guys, and there will be zero issue. This is a team that we live by a brotherhood that they love each other, they care for each other, and they're going to go play their best. So, was there disappointment? I'm sure there was. We had a conversation in the locker room after the game last night. We had a job to do; we did it. Now we have the chance to go to -- we have great memories of going down to Dallas, Texas. I still have many guys on our team that was down there before we played. The minute you say the University of Southern Cal, that gets attention. Everyone knows they're the champions of their conference. One thing about our players, they're excited to represent each other and Ohio State. That's all you can ask from a team," Meyer said.
For more Cotton Bowl coverage stay tuned to The SkyBoat.
The Buckeyes defeated previously unbeaten Wisconsin Badgers 27-21 last night in the Big Ten Championship game. Meanwhile, on Friday night The Trojans beat Stanford 31-28. Instead of taking either Ohio State or USC, the CFP choose two SEC teams in Georgia who won their conference championship game and Alabama who did not play in the game. Oklahoma and defending national champion Clemson take up the final spots.
This game may very well come down to which team can move on from being left out and focus on a strong finish with a bowl win. With the storied history between both of these schools, it should not be a problem as this has the makings of a good game.
"Well, I think the first thing that sticks out to me is the quality of opponent that you're going to get to face. And being -- having a chance to go to a great city like Dallas, Texas, and be part of an historic bowl like the Cotton Bowl. That's not too hard to get fired up for. It's USC versus Ohio State. That alone is going to excite your football team. These are two programs that got a lot of pride and want to do well for their fan bases. And to have that opportunity to compete against a great football team, a Big Ten championship football team, I don't know how much more exciting you can get than that," USC head coach Clay Helton said.
Ohio State is 22-25 all-time in bowl games. The Buckeyes have won three of its last four. This will be their first time in the Cotton Bowl since 1987 when they defeated Texas A&M 28-12. The Trojans hold the edge in the all-time series against the Buckeyes 13-9-1 including seven straight wins. The last meeting was in 2009 when the Trojans came away with an 18-15 victory.
For the Trojans, this is only their second Cotton Bowl trip. In 1995 USC won 55-14 against Texas Tech. Both USC and Ohio State rank in the Top 10 in all-time victories (834 for USC, and 897 for Ohio State).
For head coach Urban Meyer, this is his sixth straight bowl game coaching the Buckeyes. He's currently 3-2. This is the fourth consecutive year that Ohio State will be playing in a New Year's 6 game. They came away with victories in the Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and a CFP National Championship.
"I sent out a group text. We got in real late last night, and I'm going to be on the road recruiting. But I saw a couple of guys, and there will be zero issue. This is a team that we live by a brotherhood that they love each other, they care for each other, and they're going to go play their best. So, was there disappointment? I'm sure there was. We had a conversation in the locker room after the game last night. We had a job to do; we did it. Now we have the chance to go to -- we have great memories of going down to Dallas, Texas. I still have many guys on our team that was down there before we played. The minute you say the University of Southern Cal, that gets attention. Everyone knows they're the champions of their conference. One thing about our players, they're excited to represent each other and Ohio State. That's all you can ask from a team," Meyer said.
For more Cotton Bowl coverage stay tuned to The SkyBoat.