Ohio State Football: 5 bold predictions for Cotton Bowl vs. USC

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 02: Safety Damon Webb #7 and defensive lineman Tracy Sprinkle #93 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrate their 27-21 win over the Wisconsin Badgers during the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

1. Ohio State comes back, wins on last-second FG

After a shaky start from JT Barrett, Ohio State will head into halftime with a 14-point deficit. Things will look grim for Urban Meyer’s team, but have no fear, this team has just too much talent to stay quiet for a full four quarters.

Ohio State will bounce back in the second half despite giving up a responding touchdown to USC after scoring first in the third quarter to pull within seven. It will take everything the Buckeyes have, but they will tie things up late in the fourth quarter, putting pressure on USC to drive the field and score to win.

Quite the opposite of last year’s Rose Bowl win, USC will allow a big comeback. Last year against Penn State, the Trojans stormed back to win in the final minutes, but this Big Ten foe won’t stay down for long, bouncing back in the final 30 minutes to make the Cotton Bowl a classic.

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The Buckeyes will force a quick three-and-out on the Trojans’ final drive in the fourth quarter with just over a minute left. They will then drive the field to get into range and junior kicker Sean Nuernberger will build on his best season yet and drill a 40-yarder to win the game with no time left.

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