Stephen A Smith issues stark warning to Steve Sarkisian’s Texas for CFB semifinal against Ohio State

The college football playoff quarterfinals provided plenty of intriguing matchups on Wednesday as Texas Longhorns survived a tough fourth quarter and lost Arizona State Sun Devils in double overtime. Meanwhile, the Ohio State Buckeyes completely dominated the Oregon Ducks. Now fourth-ranked Texas and sixth-ranked Ohio State will meet in the Cotton Bowl in the semifinals.

Thursday’s edition of “First Take” featured the Longhorns and host Stephen A. Smith let it be known that he doesn’t feel the Longhorns will make it to the national championship game since they have a tough matchup with the Buckeyes.

“They were sloppy. As scary as (ASU running back Cam Skattebo) is, he’s just one guy and he gave you nightmares. … Based on the sloppiness I saw at Texas, I’m afraid Ohio State is going to cut him out ,” Smith said.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Buckeyes (12-2) are six-point favorites with a week to go before the Jan. 10 Cotton Bowl.

How did Quinn Ewers fare in the College Football Playoff against Arizona State?

While there were some questions about how running back Quinn Ewers played in the big game for the Texas Longhorns, he stepped up and finished 20 of 30 (66.7%) for 322 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, adding a rushing touchdown.

There were some incredible decisions, such as the pass that ended up being intercepted, as well as some of the playcalling. However, it is difficult to call Ewers for plays. On “The Colin Cowherd Podcast,” former NFL scout John Middlekauff said he wasn’t too impressed with the outing despite the box score looking good.

“This is a national championship roster without a national championship quarterback,” Middlekauff said.

Breaking the game, Ewers made mistakes, but right now the only thing Texas (13-2) needs to do is survive and advance.