GRAPEVINE, Texas — The games have been stacking up for the Texas Longhorns, who after playing in the Southeastern Conference championship matchup a month ago had to win two extra games in this expanded College Football Playoff just to get back to the same spot they were last season.
At least they didn’t have to travel far Wednesday for this CFP semifinal, their 16th game of the 2024 season. It was only about a 45-minute flight from their campus to North Texas, where they will take on Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.
“You can’t take it for granted. Most people don’t get opportunities to still be playing, and then to still be playing, I mean, down the road from Austin, that’s another blessing,” All-America cornerback Jahdae Barron said after the team’s arrival.
Both the fifth-seeded Longhorns (13-2) and the eighth-seeded Buckeyes (12-2) got to the Dallas area as scheduled ahead of an expected winter storm that was forecast to bring 2 to 4 inches of snow Thursday, along with sleet and rain.
With the game played inside at AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, the weather shouldn’t have any direct impact on the actual game that determines whether the Buckeyes or Longhorns advance to the national championship game on Jan. 20 in Atlanta. Sixth-seeded Penn State (13-2) and seventh-seeded Notre Dame (13-1) meet in the other semifinal Thursday night, the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.