Opening Cotton Bowl odds for Ohio State-Texas aren't respecting the Buckeyes just yet

We now have our first College Football Playoff national semifinal game set in stone. The Rose Bowl champion Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the Peach Bowl champion Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl. It will be the No. 8 seed vs. the No. 5 seed on the Oregon side of the bracket. Although Ohio State was a slight favorite vs. the Ducks in Pasadena, bookmakers are still not respecting Ohio State.

Whether it be FanDuel or Draft Kings, the Buckeyes are only laying 4.5 points vs. Texas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington for the Cotton Bowl. Yes, Texas has looked the part of a serious national championship contender the last few weeks, but the Longhorns simply do not have that extra gear offensively to keep pace with the vaunted Buckeyes attack. Ohio State should be laying a touchdown.

I am not a gambling man by any means, but I have been on the right side of the money in all three national quarterfinals up to this point. I had Penn State beating Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl and covering the spread. Fourth quarter heroics and overtime had Arizona State covering the spread in Texas' Peach Bowl victory. Having Ohio State winning and covering over Oregon easily was my best.

I reserve the right to amend my feelings on this game up until False Start's semifinals preview show.

Oddsmakers are not putting enough respect on Ohio State's name again

Heading into Thursday's delayed Sugar Bowl between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 2 Georgia, I am two for three on my national semifinalists heading into the season. While I cannot recall who I had losing to Georgia in the national championship between Ohio State and Oregon, I had the Buckeyes, the Dawgs and the Longhorns in the final four. The only difference is Penn State taking Oregon's place.

What I am getting at is Ohio State has been this talented all along, but there is still a chance they have been grossly under-coached throughout. It kind of feels like the team wins in spite of Ryan Day. This thing could conceivably drive itself. To be quite frank, Ohio State is probably the team best equipped to win a national title right now. They are playing with a greater sense of momentum than anyone.

After watching the entire Peach Bowl in-person, I can say that Ohio State's pass rush is going to be a major problem for their former backup quarterback's team with Quinn Ewers under center. He played great when it counted, but it may not have been good enough against a defense the caliber of Georgia, Penn State, or Ohio State. It is early, but I like Ohio State to win the Cotton Bowl considerably.

Depending on who wins the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State may have an easier opponent than Penn State.