CFP Cotton Bowl Quarterfinal Odds & Betting Tips

The Miami Hurricanes cleared one hurdle with an upset of Texas A&M in the first round to advance to the CFP Quarterfinals and a matchup with the No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

The game is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium can be seen on ABC. The Buckeyes are almost a double-digit favorite on the college football spread.

Miami vs. Ohio State Preview

The Canes proved their doubters wrong with an impressive win in the first round. Miami outlasted Texas A&M, 10-3, in a game that didn’t look like a playoff contest over the first three quarters.

That the Canes stuck around, made big plays on defense and came up with a winning score from Mark Fletcher was proof that they belonged in the field.

For just the second time this season Miami was getting points on the college football daily lines and for the second time they won outright. The Canes beat Notre Dame 27-24 in the season opener as a 3-point dog, a win that ultimately landed them in the CFP.

They beat the Aggies as a 3-point dog and they’re getting 9.5-points in this matchup with OSU.

Miami forced 3 turnovers, including the game preserving interception in the end zone. For the season they are second in the ACC in takeaways and tied for the lead with a +11 margin.
Mark Fletcher rushed for 172 yards averaging more than 10 yards a carry against the Aggies. Despite missing 2 games he leads the team with 857 rush yards and 10 TDs.
The Canes allowed just a field goal to an Aggies squad that entered the game averaging more than 36 points. Miami leads the ACC allowing just 13.0 points a contest.
Since losing to SMU in Week 10, Carson Beck has 12 TD passes and 1 INT in 5 games

The Buckeyes have had plenty of time to stew over their loss to Indiana in the Big Ten championship and will use that, as well as their experience from last year’s national title run as motivation.

The offense was shut down by Indiana, especially the ground game. OSU had just 58 yards averaging 2.2 yards per carry.

Like it’s been all season the defense was stingy holding the high-powered IU offense to just 13 points. But for the Buckeyes that’s a lot. It was just the third time in 13 games the D allowed more than 10 points in a game. Ohio State has the No. 1 total defense and scoring defense in the country.

Protecting their QB is a big task for the O line. The group allowed 5 sacks in the Big Ten title game after conceding only 6 sacks during the regular season.
Julian Sayin has completed 78.4 percent of his passes for 3,323 yards and 31 TD. He was intercepted in each of the last 2 games raising his total to 6.
The Buckeyes have held 10 opponents to 10 points or less and lead the nation giving up just 8.2 points per game. They cashed the UNDER in 3 straight and 6 of their last 8 games.

Miami vs. Ohio State Predictions

We saw the Buckeyes struggle on offense against Indiana prompting Ryan Day to take over play calling duties. While the stop units on both sides stand out, there are playmakers on offense giving value to the OVER on a relatively low total.

Miami vs. Ohio State Betting Tips

Ohio State opened as the biggest favorite in the CFP quarterfinals, laying 9.5-points.
That’s nothing new for the Buckeyes who’ve been favored by at least that many points in 10 games and they’ve been profitable going 10-2-1 against the college football betting line.
Miami has payouts in 2 straight games and 3 of their last 4 while going 8-5 ATS.
OSU is listed at -355 and Miami at +280 on the college football money lines.
With 2 strong defenses the total opened at 43.5, which would be the lowest in a Miami game this season.
The UNDER is 7-3 in Miami’s last 10 games.

Miami vs. Ohio State Head to Head and Key Stats

The teams are meeting for the 6th time and the first since Miami’s 24-6 win in the 2011 season. OSU leads the series 3-2, though their 2010 victory was vacated.
The Buckeyes won last season’s Cotton Bowl Classic, defeating Texas 28-14 in a CFP semifinal en route to the national championship.