2025 Cotton Bowl Classic (December)

2025 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal
90th Cotton Bowl Classic
AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the site of the Cotton Bowl Classic
DateDecember 31, 2025
Season2025
StadiumAT&T Stadium
LocationArlington, Texas
FavoriteOhio State by 9.5
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN

The 2025 Cotton Bowl Classic is a college football bowl game that is scheduled to be played on December 31, 2025, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.[1] The 90th annual game will feature the Miami Hurricanes of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference. It will be one of the 2025–26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season. The Cotton Bowl will be one of the College Football Playoff (CFP) quarterfinal games, with the winner advancing to the semifinals. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. CST and will air on ESPN. Sponsored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, the game is officially known as the 2025 CFP Quarterfinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.[1][2][3]

Background

The Cotton Bowl Classic is a CFP quarterfinal game. No. 2 Ohio State, being one of the top four teams in the final CFP rankings, received an automatic bye in the CFP and was selected to play in the bowl game. Miami (FL), the No. 10 seed in the playoff, defeated Texas A&M, the No. 7 seed, in the first round, 10–3, to advance to this game.

This will be the sixth meeting on the field between Miami and Ohio State, with the series tied 2–2 (Ohio State's 2010 win was vacated).[4]

The winning team will advance to the CFP semifinals, facing the winner of the Sugar Bowl, in the Fiesta Bowl.

First round Cotton Bowl
2 Ohio State
10 Miami (FL) 10 10 Miami (FL)
7 Texas A&M 3

Teams

The game will feature the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Miami Hurricanes. The sixth meeting between the two teams, this is the first meeting since the 2011 season, where the unranked Hurricanes upset the 17th-ranked Buckeyes, 24–6.[5] This is the teams' first postseason meeting since the 2003 Fiesta Bowl (the designated BCS national championship game of the 2002 college football season), where the second-ranked Buckeyes—a 12-point underdog—upset the top-ranked Hurricanes 31–24 in double overtime to win their first outright national championship since 1968.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Miami Hurricanes

Game summary

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the 2025 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
Quarter 1 2 34Total
(10) No. 10 Miami (FL) - - --0
(2) No. 2 Ohio State - - --0

at AT&T StadiumArlington, Texas

  • Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2025
  • Game time: 6:30 p.m. CST
  • TV: ESPN

Statistics

Statistics MIA OSU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: compattint –– ––
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Miami (FL) Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Ohio State Passing
Rushing
Receiving

References

  1. ^ a b Sallee, Barrett (May 2, 2023). "College Football Playoff schedule, dates set for 2024, 2025 seasons with field expanding to 12 teams". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on March 21, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  2. ^ "2025-26 College Football Playoff schedule, dates, TV channel, sites". NCAA.com. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  3. ^ "College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
  4. ^ Team, Winsipedia. "Winsipedia College Football Database". Winsipedia. Retrieved 2025-12-20.
  5. ^ https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/football/opponent-history/miami/298