Joel Klatt picks winner of Ohio State vs. Texas in College Football Playoff

On Friday, Ohio State and Texas will square off in the Cotton Bowl Classic with a trip to the national championship on the line. Ahead of the showdown, FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt revealed his prediction for the highly-anticipated bout.

“Even though this game is in Dallas, I don’t see this Ohio State team taking their foot off the gas,” Klatt said. “If we’re being really honest, the back half of the year, Texas has not quite looked like their full self, and it’s going to take their full self. They’re going to have to win the first quarter to keep the crowd engaged in Dallas and not allow the Buckeyes to just run off and hide.

“They have to run the football. There’s a lot of things. The dominoes that have to fall over for Texas are, to me, just too many. Whereas Ohio State, they’ve got a lot of paths to victory here. Steve Sarkisian is right, Ohio State is playing the best football of anybody in the country. They’ve got a great roster. And if they play like that at all, they should win this game.”

Ohio State looked like the best team in the country last week in its 41-21 blowout win over No. 1 overall seed Oregon. The Buckeyes’ offense steamrolled Oregon’s defense, racking up 500 total yards.

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OSU freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith gave Oregon defenders headaches, finishing the game with seven catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

The Buckeyes were also successful in the ground game. Running back TreVeyon Henderson led the rushing attack with eight carries for 94 yards and two scores. The 20-point win was the Buckeyes’ largest margin of victory over a top-ranked team in program history.

Texas’ win in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals wasn’t nearly as impressive. On Wednesday, it took two overtimes for the Longhorns to secure a 39-31 victory over Arizona State.

While Texas looked formidable early, it faltered in the second half, allowing the Sun Devils to outscore them 21-7 in the third and fourth quarters. Discipline was particularly an issue for the Longhorns, who committed 10 penalties, knocking them back 67 total yards.

While Klatt believes Texas is capable of defeating Ohio State, he’s rolling with the Buckeyes.

“I like Ohio State in this game, 34-21. Ohio State is favored by 5.5 [points]. I am going with the Buckeyes,” Klatt said. “They’re covering the 5.5, 34-21. Ohio State wins it, and I am predicting a Notre Dame-Ohio State national championship game.”

Ohio State and Texas will face off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday. The game will air live on ESPN.