Ohio State football quarterback Will Howard is playing with a large knot on his non-throwing left hand in the CFP Cotton Bowl semifinal vs. Texas:

The Buckeyes took a 7-0 lead early in the game as the Ohio State defense had kept Texas in check. And Howard’s hand was not the only high-profile injury of the first half. Texas’ top receiver Matthew Golden suffered an ankle injury after he got rolled up on in the first half and tried to return before leaving the game.

Ohio State, for a third straight College Football Playoff game, jumped out of the gates on fire against Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night. Quarterback Will Howard led the Buckeyes on an easy touchdown drive on their first possession.

Ohio State is one win away from a college football national championship after beating Texas in the Cotton Bowl with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

Texas has reached consecutive College Football Playoff semifinals and posted 25 wins over two years. You have to go all the way back to when Colt McCoy was playing quarterback during coach Mack Brown's heyday more than 15 years ago to find a better stretch.

Quinshon Judkins ran for two touchdowns before Jack Sawyer forced a fumble by his former roommate that he returned 83 yards for a score with 2:13 left as Ohio State beat Texas 28-14

Deep in the heart of Texas, the Buckeyes had to fight, scratch and claw through enemy territory on their way to the national title game.

The loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl ends the 2024 football season for Texas, which is still searching for its first national title since 2005.