Ohio State began Friday as a consensus 6-point favorite over Texas in the Capital One Cotton Bowl, a spread much larger than what was expected.
Sportsbooks had Ohio State as only a 1.5-point favorite over Texas in early lines posted last week before the semifinal matchup was set. But after the Longhorns squeaked past Arizona State in overtime and the Buckeyes blew out Oregon in the quarterfinals, oddsmakers knew they had to adjust the line on the Cotton Bowl (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
"Texas just doesn't impress us, and Ohio State looks like a runaway freight train now," John Murray, a veteran Las Vegas bookmaker with the Westgate SuperBook, told ESPN this week.