ARLINGTON, Texas — For Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian and his players, the 2024 college football season has been an unprecedented mental and physical gauntlet.

Football has been a varsity sport on the Forty Acres since 1893 and no team has played more games or had a season go deeper into January. One win away from meeting Notre Dame in the national championship game, the current Longhorns continue their 16-game season in the Cotton Bowl, the backdrop for Friday’s College Football Playoff semifinal against Ohio State (6:30 p.m., ESPN).

Texas (13-2) started preseason practice on July 31. After a 12-game regular season, including eight games in the program’s first season as a member of the SEC, competing for the SEC Championship, a CFP first-round win over Clemson and a CFP quarterfinal over Arizona State in the Peach Bowl, the Longhorns earned their way back to where they were last season in the final season of the four-team CFP.

Like facing eventual national runner-up Washington in the Sugar Bowl, the Buckeyes represent a tremendous challenge for Texas.

“I think it’s a credit to our players and to our staff, the work that they’ve put in,” Sarkisian said on Thursday regarding a return trip to the CFP semifinals while navigating an SEC schedule and the inaugural season of the 12-team playoff field. “Two years in a row we’ve been in this place now, and it’s been something that we were striving for when we first took over the program, so Year 3, Year 4, to be back, it’s an honor, but it’s also a credit, I think, to the people in our organization for the work that they’ve put in.

“That being said, we’ve got a great opponent.”

Ohio State (12-2) comes into the game fresh off a 41-21 rout of Oregon in the Rose Bowl, preceded by a 42-17 first-round dismantling of Tennessee. Coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes have turned the page in the postseason after ending the regular season with a stunning loss to Michigan, which Sarkisian has noted more than once leading up to the game.

“In this format — and now, we’re kind of in this NFL-format model — it’s not always about who was the best team for 12 games. It’s who’s playing the best football this time of the year,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “I think we could all agree what Coach Day has done, their team, them coming out of that Michigan game and what they’ve been able to do since the [CFP has] started has been tremendous. That’s a credit to Coach Day and his staff [for] re-galvanizing that roster and getting them going.”

Horns247 is on the scene, with Chip Brown, Eric Henry and Jeff Howe reporting live from AT&T Stadium before, during and after the game.

COTTON BOWL, COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEMIFINAL: No. 5 TEXAS (13-2) vs. No. 8 OHIO STATE (12-2)

When: Friday, Jan. 10

Where: AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)

Kickoff: 6:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN (Play-by-Play: Chris Fowler; Analyst: Kirk Herbstreit; Sideline Reporters: Holly Rowe, Laura Rutledge)

Live Stream: FuboTV

Local Radio: Longhorn Radio Network/LEARFIELD, 98.1 FM and 1300 AM in Austin (Play-by-Play: Craig Way; Analyst: Roger Wallace; Sideline Reporter: Will Matthews)

Audio Stream: The Varsity Network

Live Stats: Side Arm Stats

Spread: Ohio State -6 (SportsLine consensus)