The No. 5 Texas Longhorns said to start the year that one of their goals of the year was to compete for a national championship. Now they sit just four quarters away from playing in the national championship game, but standing in their way is one of the hottest teams in college football right now — the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes. While the Longhorns struggled in their quarterfinal matchup with Arizona State, the Buckeyes plowed through the No. 1 Oregon Ducks, 41-21.

With a trip to Atlanta and the CFP National Championship on the line, both teams will need to be on their A-game to get the job done and punch their tickets.

Red-zone conversions

Texas fans have rightfully been frustrated with the the Longhorns’ production in the red zone, not just this year, but in the entire Steve Sarkisian era, and it will be a key factor in the Cotton Bowl. On the year, the Longhorns are No. 95 in red-zone scoring, coming away with points on 80.6 percent of their trips inside the 20. In slightly better news, they are up to No. 52 in the country on converting those trips into touchdowns, doing so on 64.2 percent of their trips. However, the Ohio State defense is elite at stopping opponents inside the 20-yard line, sitting No. 2 in both red-zone scoring and red-zone touchdowns allowed.

Offensively, the Buckeyes have not struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone, sitting No. 5 in the country with 75.9 percent. The Texas defense has been almost as stout as the Ohio State defense in the red zone, sitting one spot behind them at No. 3 in both scoring and touchdowns, with 61.8 percent and 43.2 percent, respectively.

Explosive plays

While the Texas offense has been much maligned in many spots, they have been one of the more explosive teams in the country, sitting No. 6 in plays longer than 10 yards and No. 1 in the country in plays longer than 20 yards. Most of those plays have come in the passing game, with 164 of their 231 explosive plays coming via the pass. They are, however, going against one of the top explosive play defenses in the country — the Buckeyes have allowed just 120 plays longer than 10 yards, good enough for No. 2 in the country.

The matchup between the Buckeyes offense and the Longhorns defense will be just as pivotal, with Ohio State ranking No. 16 in explosive plays, compared to the Longhorns who sit No. 18 in the country. The majority of their explosive plays come through the air, with 138 of their 215 explosive plays coming through the air, while the Longhorns sit No. 18 in the country in passes longer than 10 yards allowed.

Penalties

While explosives and red zone conversions might say a lot, it may be one of the most basic parts of the game that determines the outcome. Ohio State enters the game as one of the least-penalized teams in the country, averaging just 4.1 penalties per game, ranking No. 7 in the country, for an average of 37.1 yards per game. The Longhorns have done a poor job this year avoiding self-inflicted wounds, sitting No. 91 in the country with 6.5 penalties per game, averaging 51.7 penalty yards per game.