A battle of top-level college quarterbacks will take place at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, a College Football Playoff quarterfinal, between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 10 Miami on Wednesday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Ohio State will send quarterback Julian Sayin, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist, out against Miami quarterback Carson Beck, who transferred from Georgia to the Hurricanes before this season started.
Ohio State Buckeyes Opt-Outs and Injury Report
The 12-1 Buckeyes will be without wide receiver Bryson Rodgers, who entered the transfer portal and has opted out of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. As for injuries, wide receiver Quincy Porter, safety Malik Hartford, and offensive guard Tegra Tshabola are all out, too.
Ohio State will also have Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day calling the plays from the sidelines. Offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline has left the program to become the head coach at South Florida.
Day will look to get Sayin cooking against the Hurricanes’ secondary. According to the PFSN CFB QB Impact metrics, Sayin has an impact score of 90.8 and grades out to an A-.
Sayin has thrown for 3,323 yards passing this season, along with 31 touchdowns and six interceptions. For the Ohio State run game, Day will lean on Bo Jackson, who has 1,035 rushing yards and five touchdown runs this season. Defensive end Caden Curry comes into the Goodyear Cotton Bowl with 11 sacks, so he’ll be looking to take down Beck.
Miami Hurricanes Opt-Outs and Injury Report
As for the 11-2 Hurricanes, defensive lineman Daylen Russell has entered the transfer portal and will not play. Miami also has a couple of notable injuries, too. Wide receiver Daylyn Upshaw and cornerback Damari Brown have been ruled out of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl.
Beck will do his best to tap into his previous College Football Playoff experience with the Bulldogs to help Miami pull off what might be considered an upset. Coming into the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Beck has thrown for 3,175 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions on the season.
According to the PFSN CFB QB Impact metrics, Beck has an impact score of 83.3 and grades out to a B. Miami head coach Mario Cristobal hopes Beck can find a rhythm early and carry it over into the entire game.
Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. has totaled 857 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Wide receiver Malachi Toney has 857 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches entering the College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup.
How to Watch the Goodyear Cotton Bowl
The Goodyear Cotton Bowl will be shown on ESPN.
- Date: Wednesday, Dec. 31
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Place: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
- TV: ESPN
Dave Pasch, who calls college football games for ESPN and NFL games for the Arizona Cardinals, will be on the call in the booth. He’ll be joined by Dusty Dvoracek, who also hosts SiriusXM’s College Sports “Dusty & Danny in the Morning” show alongside Danny Kanell, who will be on commentary. Quint Kessenich will be reporting from the sidelines.
Streaming options may include the ESPN app, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, and Sling. Subscriptions may also be necessary for some of these options.
