Now the Buckeyes face No. 5 Texas at the Cotton Bowl. The other semifinal, to be played on Jan. 9, has No. 6 Penn State vs. the winner of Thursday's game between No. 2 Georgia and No. 7 Notre Dame.
The win advances the Irish (13-1) to the CFP semifinal against Penn State (13-2) in the Orange Bowl in Miami on Thursday, January 9, at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
Tom Allen reportedly is closing in on the same job at Clemson. The Nittany Lions' top two running backs will be back, though.