Elite depth, the staple of so many recent national champions, is harder to maintain in the NIL/portal era of player transience.

The Buckeyes’ defense will be tested by the high-flying Longhorns, who are 13-2 and rank 21st in scoring. Texas lost to Georgia twice this year but bounced back to beat Clemson in the first round and Arizona State in the Peach Bowl, approaching 40 points in both victories.

The first round of the College Football Playoffs has already concluded, with 8 teams battling it out for the top honour. Here are all the results so far, followed by the upcoming games (remembering that some teams received byes into the quarterfinals):