New Year’s Six: Cotton Bowl

Cotton Bowl: (8) University of Southern California Trojans vs. (5) The Ohio State Buckeyes

Line: Ohio State (-6.5)
Date: Friday, Dec. 29, 2017
Time: 8:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Venue: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX

Ohio State (11-2)
Best Player: Quarterback J.T. Barrett

The Buckeyes defeated the previously unbeaten Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten title game, yet were still left out of the playoff. While some fans may be disappointed with this bowl draw, Ohio State hopes to make this a statement game and show the committee that they should have been chosen to compete for the national championship. Senior quarterback J.T. Barrett has had the best season of his career (35 TDs, 9 INTs, 10 rushing TDs) and has secured his place as one of the best Buckeyes of all-time. He will get help from standout true freshman running back J.K. Dobbins who ran for over 1,300 yards (7.5 yards per carry) and 7 TDs. Ohio State’s strength is their defensive line, where they are loaded with NFL talent. Ends Tyquan Lewis, Sam Hubbard, Nick Bosa, and Chase Young provide a solid pass rush, and tackle Tre’Mont Jones is a run-stopping specialist. Ohio State’s pass rushers look to be a huge advantage for the Buckeyes over the Trojans’ occasionally suspect offensive line.

USC (11-2)
Best Player: Quarterback Sam Darnold

Some may say the Trojans had a disappointing year, but they won the Pac-12 for the first time since 2008 and will find themselves in a New year’s Six bowl for the second straight year. After a rocky start, quarterback Sam Darnold, a top NFL prospect, performed well during the second half of the season (14 TDs, 3 INTs over last seven games). He’s the kind of player that can completely take over a game when he is playing well. Darnold’s–and USC’s as a whole–downfall has been turnovers. They turned the ball over almost two times per game on average in 2017, something they cannot afford to do against the Buckeyes. Running back Ronald Jones II proved to be one of the top ball carriers in college football this year, gaining close to 1,500 yards on the ground to this point and finding the endzone 18 times. Over his career, the Trojans are 20-0 when Jones II gets at least 15 carries. When he doesn’t? USC is 8-11. Look for offensive coordinator Tee Martin to feed Jones II the ball and let Darnold throw off of play-action. Defensively, USC has sacked the opposing quarterback more than anyone in the country. Getting pressure on J.T. Barrett will be key.

The game will be decided by…

The play of Sam Darnold. He will be the best player on the field come December 29th in Arlington, and when he is playing well, no team over the past two years has been able to stop him. If he avoids the turnover bug and plays a clean game, the Trojans will make a statement and beat Ohio State. Regardless, this has the makings of a classic. Trojans. Buckeyes. What more could you want?

Prediction: USC 37, Ohio State 35