Hoping to vie for a national championship, the University of Texas faces Ohio State Friday night in Arlington in the semifinal of the College Football Playoff. Why it matters: Win or lose, the Longhorns under head coach Steve Sarkisian are relevant once again.

The Buckeyes will meet the No. 5 seed Texas Longhorns at AT&T Stadium on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). The winner of Friday’s game will move on to play either Notre Dame or Penn State on January 20th in the national championship game.

Ohio State is led by quarterback Will Howard, who's thrown for 32 touchdowns and 3,490 yards with a 72.6 completion percentage. The Buckeyes also have a plethora of offensive weapons who are bound to make plays in the Cotton Bowl, such as wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka.