Texas will play in its second-consecutive College Football Playoff semifinal because its prodigious veteran quarterback made a handful of legacy-defining plays in overtime of the quarterfinals and its usually stout defense didn’t entirely break.

Tickets for the game are already available. At the time of publication, the cheapest available tickets for the College Football Playoff first-round matchup between Ohio State and Texas cost $94. The winner of Friday’s game will move on to the national championship game against either Notre Dame or Penn State.

Penn State was unable to corral Oregon’s offense in the Big Ten Championship though, allowing 496 total yards while dropping a 45-37 decision to the then undefeated Ducks. The Nittany Lions eviscerated SMU in the first round of the CFP Playoff,

College football's newfound parity has been a major talking point through the 2024 season. For a multitude of perfectly sensible reasons, the good teams aren't as good at the power conference level, and some of the bad teams aren't as bad.