The No. 5 Texas Longhorns will play the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl semifinal on Thursday evening. The Buckeyes are six-point favorites against the Longhorns as they have looked dominant in its two semifinals against Tennessee and Oregon.

In 1969, an Associated Press poll voted the game the best in the first 100 years of college football. Notre Dame would finish the season 7-1-1 after a loss to Northwestern and a tie with Army, while Ohio State went 7-1. The loss to the Irish likely cost the Buckeyes a share of what would have been the first national title in program history.

College football is deeper than we thought. As many as five or six teams this season were championship-quality. Nothing flukish about the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish, except for the fortune and favor of time.