The Ohio State football team will play the winner of Texas A&M and Miami in the Cotton Bowl. This year, the Buckeyes have the luxury of sitting at home during the first round of the College Football Playoff. Last year, they went on an epic four-game run, starting at the Shoe.
As the Ohio State Buckeyes prepare for both possible opponents, it's pretty clear which opponent they should want to face. Despite having a chance to shut up one of the more annoying fan bases, the Buckeyes should want to face Texas A&M instead of the Hurricanes.
Yes, the Aggies will have a home-field advantage against the Buckeyes if they beat Miami. The Cotton Bowl would be full of A&M fans, but Ohio State dealt with that last season against Texas. That obviously didn't bother them too much, as they were able to get the victory.
Why the Ohio State football team should want to face Texas A&M
There are a few reasons why the Buckeyes should want to face the Aggies. One, Texas A&M doesn't have a single good win in the SEC. All of their wins are against the bottom half of the league, as they had the easiest schedule in the conference. They lost their only game against a good team, which was against Texas.
Secondly, the Aggies have played poorly even in some of the games they have won. They had a massive deficit against South Carolina before the Gamecocks blew it. The Aggies should have lost against a bad Auburn team, but the refs decided to screw the Tigers.
Texas A&M also has just the 42nd-ranked defense in terms of points allowed. Ohio State's offense has been very good this season, thanks to the play of Julian Sayin. Sayin was a Heisman candidate, so that shows just how well he played in his first year as a starter.
Ohio State should beat either opponent they face, but A&M would be the easier one to tackle.