Texas' Sarkisian: Ohio State 'the best team' in CFB

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is declaring the Longhorns "massive" underdogs for their Cotton Bowl semifinal matchup against Ohio State on Jan. 10.

"I need Longhorn Nation to show out in Arlington," Sarkisian said Friday, according to ESPN's Dave Wilson. "We're going to need everything we've got to try to win this game. Clearly, we're massive underdogs. Nobody's going to give us a shot. ... This is the best team in college football, and we're going to have to make sure that we put our best forward to give ourselves a chance to win the game."

Ohio State did beat the College Football Playoff committee's top-ranked team, Oregon, to play Texas, dominating the former 41-21 at the Rose Bowl. The Ducks were 13-0 until that matchup and had defeated the Buckeyes in the regular season.

Ohio State also took down Tennessee in the first round of the playoff. Ryan Day's outfit has scored 83 combined points against the Volunteers and Ducks and won those matchups by an average of 23 points.

Sarkisian is particularly impressed by Buckeyes receivers Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka.

"They've got the scheme to go with it, with (offensive coordinator) (Chip) Kelly and coach Day, and they've got a quarterback who delivers on the ball," Sarkisian added. "So you add all that up, these guys are impactful players that are real issues and we're going to have a hard time guarding 'em."

Texas entered the playoffs with an 11-2 record, with both losses coming to Georgia, including the SEC title game. Meanwhile, Ohio State went 10-2 after losing to Oregon and Michigan.

The Longhorns are the last remaining SEC team in the CFP. Georgia - which recently lost starting quarterback Carson Beck to an elbow injury - fell to Notre Dame on Thursday. The Fighting Irish will face Penn State in the other semifinal at the Orange Bowl.