Johnny Manziel Confidently Predicts Winner of Ohio State-Texas Cotton Bowl Matchup

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Cole Sullivan | Last updated Jan 9, 2025 9:47 PM ET

The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes have arrived in Arlington, Texas, for a highly anticipated matchup against the No. 5 Texas Longhorns at AT&T Stadium on Friday night. The two programs will compete in the Cotton Bowl for the right to advance to the national championship on Jan. 20.

Many have unveiled their predictions for this showdown, and one of the latest comes from former Texas A&M icon and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, who remains one of the most prominent collegiate quarterbacks of the last decade-plus.

This week, Manziel predicted that Ohio State will carry the momentum they've built over their last two playoff victories against Tennessee and Oregon and defeat the Longhorns in a high-scoring showdown.

"I don't think there's a hotter team in this playoff right now than Ohio State," Manziel said. "If they continue to play and start the way they have, this could be a long day for Texas. So, I'm going with Ohio State here, but I think there could be some points scored in this game, so I like the over as well."

Johnny Manziel is from Tyler, Texas, and grew up a fan of the Longhorns. However, he was never recruited by the university. After initially committing to Oregon, Manziel ultimately chose to play for Texas A&M.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Manziel’s recruitment process is that he received his offer from Oregon at the same camp as fellow quarterback Marcus Mariota.

While Manziel changed his mind and chose to stay closer to home, Mariota committed to Oregon and led them to the 2014 national championship game, where they lost to Ohio State. However, Mariota won the Heisman Trophy that season—two years after Manziel won his.

Despite his ties to the state of Texas, Manziel has been backing the Buckeyes throughout the entire College Football Playoff, making weekly predictions for Action Network dating back to the first round.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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