GRAPEVINE, Texas – The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes (11-2, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) made the trek to North Texas on Sunday to begin on-site preparations for the 2025 College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the 90th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.
Head Coach Mario Cristobal and his squad arrived at the team hotel around 5:15 p.m. CT on Sunday. Shortly after arrival, a pair of Miami players met with the assembled media ahead of the Hurricanes' matchup with the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1, 9-0 Big Ten Conference) on New Year's Eve at AT&T Stadium.
"I mean, we're excited to come here," said OL Anez Cooper. "I really like the atmosphere. We really appreciate everything you guys do, everything the Cotton Bowl does to create this event for us and everything that goes into it."
The senior from Pleasant Grove, Ala., also took a moment to reflect on a key to Miami's upset of No. 7 seed Texas A&M in the first round of the playoff.
"I feel like we stayed together the whole game. I feel like just being able to not have no breakdown, nobody looking down on each other, being positive all game. I feel like that was a good thing for us."
The Hurricanes' defense was stifling against the Aggies, holding Texas A&M to only three points in a 10-3 victory. Senior DB Jakobe Thomas says the Hurricanes' approach to taking on a high-powered Buckeyes' team will be the same - stay true to what has worked all season.
"I'm excited for the opportunity," said Thomas. "Taking everything day by day and just ready to go out. It's been the same team every week, no matter who we play, we're the same team."
The Hurricanes will face the No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes on New Year's Eve at AT&T Stadium at 7:30 p.m. ET. The CFP Quarterfinal at the 90th Classic will be the first of four CFP quarterfinal games to be played, with the other three matchups coming on New Year's Day.
Miami is making only its second Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic appearance. In their previous appearance, the Hurricanes recorded one of the most dominant wins in the history of The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Miami routed Texas 46-3 on January 1, 1991, in the 55
th edition of The Classic.
The 2025 College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the 90th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic is Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and ESPN Radio. Kickoff is slated for 6:40 p.m.
This year's Classic is a part of the ESPN bowl lineup for the 12th straight year. Dave Pasch and Dusty Dvoracek are set to the call the action from the booth with Quint Kessenich and Taylor McGregor reporting from the sidelines. ESPN Radio returns as the Classic's national radio partner for the 12th consecutive year with Mike Couzens and Max Starks in the booth and Morgan Uber on the sidelines to describe all the action from AT&T Stadium.
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