No. 2 Ohio State opens as 10.5-point favorites over No. 10 Miami in the Cotton Bowl

Betting Line: Ohio State -10.5 | O/U 41.5

In the first meeting between these two storied programs since 2011, the No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the No. 10 seed Miami Hurricanes in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

Miami defeated Texas A&M at Kyle Field in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Hurricanes overcame a raucous environment and outlasted the Aggies in a defensive battle, with Malachi Toney scoring the game-winning touchdown in a 10-3 victory.

Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. was virtually the entire Miami offense, rushing for 172 yards on 17 carries. The former Ohio State commit recorded the biggest play of the game when it mattered most, setting up the eventual go-ahead touchdown with a 56-yard run on the opening play of the drive. On that 86-yard scoring drive for the Canes, Fletcher accounted for 75 of those yards on five carries.

Quarterback Carson Beck has a ton of experience playing in big games, playing in his sixth year of college football after spending his first five seasons at Georgia. Beck was a member of the Bulldogs’ back-to-back national championship teams, but was the backup behind Stetson Bennett. Against Texas A&M, Beck threw for only 103 yards on 14-of-20 passing with one touchdown.

Texas A&M did itself no favors in the loss, turning the ball over three times on a fumble and two interceptions thrown by quarterback Marcel Reed, including one in the end zone to seal the game in the final minute. Special teams was also a problem for both sides, with Miami missing three different field goal attempts and the Aggies having a field goal blocked.

As most people are well aware of by now, Miami missed the ACC Championship Game after dropping a pair of contests to Louisville and SMU during the regular season. With Duke winning the ACC at 8-5, the Hurricanes made the College Football Playoff as a result of their head-to-head win over Notre Dame.

Miami is a pretty well-rounded football team, ranking 19th nationally in scoring offense and 6th in scoring defense.

With the ball in their hands, the Hurricanes have been far better passing the ball (275.8 yards per game, No. 20 in the country) than running it (150 YPG, No. 77). That being said, Fletcher showed on Saturday he can be a real threat on the ground. The Buckeyes have to respect the Miami rushing attack, and they have to keep an eye on the electric freshman Toney through the air.

The roles are reversed on the other side of the ball, where the passing defense (190.9 YPG, No. 29) has lagged behind the rushing defense (86.6 YPG, No. 7). Ohio State has to come out looking to get the ball to Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate early and often, which they failed to do against Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game — especially when the field got shorter down near the red zone.

Despite having only met five times prior, there is obviously some history between these two schools.

Ohio State famously defeated Miami in the 2002 national title game, ending a dominant run for ‘The U’ and spelling the beginning of the end for head coach Larry Coker. The two sides have only met twice since, with the Buckeyes winning in Columbus in 2010 (later vacated for Tattoo Gate) and the Hurricanes winning the most recent matchup in 2011 in Florida.

A lot has changed for these programs since those early 2000s battles, with Ohio State having established itself as one of the sport’s premiere brands while Miami has struggled to get back to the same highs of the 80’s and 90’s. Can Mario Cristobal bring the Hurricanes back to the mountaintop with a signature win, or will Ryan Day and the Buckeyes continue their chase for back-to-back national titles?

All lines and odds are presented by FanDuel Sportsbook.