College Football Playoff

Ohio State safety Caleb Downs will play his sixth College Football Playoff game on Wednesday night.

Defending national champion Ohio State will try to win its second consecutive Cotton Bowl. This one Wednesday night is the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Miami.

Ohio State received an at-large spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff and posted impressive wins over Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame for its first national title since 2014.

Ryan Day praised his players, saying they deserved to be mentioned with the greatest teams in Ohio State history.

Ohio State celebrates another title after holding off a Notre Dame comeback bid to walk away with a nailbiter of a 34-23 victory over the Fighting Irish.

That the Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish, two of the sport's most storied teams, are squaring off in the title game is a TV executive's dream — and a fitting end to the first-ever 12-team playoff.

While these Buckeyes (13-2) certainly slowed down, they are getting ready for their school-record 16th game. That will be for the national championship against Notre Dame (14-1) on Monday night in Atlanta.

The 16-game season didn't come out of nowhere. Expanding the CFP to 12 teams meant that the teams in the national championship game would have to play either three or four games — depending on whether they got a first-round bye or not.

Jack Sawyer forced a fumble by his former roommate and Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers that he returned 83 yards for a touchdown with 2:13 left as Ohio State beat Texas 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl.

The Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Texas Longhorns in Friday's Cotton Bowl for a spot in the national championship.