The Cotton Bowl semifinal is set to be played as scheduled in North Texas on Friday, Jan. 10 despite severe inclement weather expected in the region. Weather forecasts project that the area could receive more than 4 inches of snow only days before the game.
No. 5 seed Texas and 8-seed Ohio State are set to clash in the College Football Playoff semifinal showdown one day after the Orange Bowl matchup between 6-seed Penn State and 7-seed Notre Dame. Despite playing in their home state, the Longhorns are 5.5-point underdogs against the surging Buckeyes.
"We continue to monitor weather reports, and over the last 24 hours, the forecast for later this week has improved according to the National Weather Service," the Cotton Bowl said in a statement. "We have been meeting routinely with city officials, the Director of Transportation for North Texas and the College Football Playoff. Should the forecast shift, we are prepared for all contingencies. North Texas highways are already being brined and plans are in place to assure a safe environment for everyone in and around AT&T Stadium on game day. The teams arrive [Wednesday], as planned, and the 2025 CFP Semifinal at the 89th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic will kick off on Friday evening as scheduled."
In the past 40 years, Dallas-Fort Worth has only received 4 inches of snow on three separate occasions, according to FOX 4. Ironically, one of the three came in February 2011, only days before AT&T Stadium was set to host its first Super Bowl. The biggest snowstorm on record came in February 2010 when the metro received 12.5 inches of snow. Additionally, the February 2021 snow storm brought 5 inches of snow and wiped out ERCOT power grids across the state, leading to the deaths of 246 people. DFW spent 129 consecutive hours below freezing.
Forecasts earlier this week showed that North Texas could hit more than 8 inches of snow, but those projections have calmed down in the past days.
Last week, the Sugar Bowl became the first College Football Playoff game to be delayed after a truck driver intentionally drove into a crowd of New Year's celebrators in New Orleans' French Quarter. The incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism. The Sugar Bowl was pushed 19 hours to Thursday, Jan. 2. 7-seed Notre Dame defeated 2-seed Georgia 23-10 in the matchup to advance to the Orange Bowl semifinal.
The winner of the 2025 Cotton Bowl will face off against the victor of the Orange Bowl in the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 20 in Atlanta. None of the four teams remaining have won a national championship since 2014.
