Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon leads the Buckeyes into the College Football Playoff semifinals against Texas on Jan. 10.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Ohio State University football team is two wins from winning the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision’s College Football Playoff championship.
Leading the OSU Buckeyes defense is linebacker Cody Simon, a West Orange native, who was named All–Big Ten First Team Defense this season, while leading the team in tackles with 97 and tackles for loss with 11.5 this season.
Simon, a 6-foot-2, 235-pound graduate student, posted a team-leading 11 tackles, including three TFLs and two sacks, in the 42-21 CFP quarterfinal win over top-seeded and previously-undefeated Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. With his effort, Simon was named the Rose Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player. Oregon ended the season at 13-1.
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Simon graduated from St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City.
Also playing for OSU is Seton Hall Prep alumnus and freshman linebacker Jaylen McClain. In 14 games, McClain has posted 15 tackles.
The eighth-seeded Buckeyes (12-2 record) will face fifth-seeded Texas (13-2) in the semifinal on Friday, Jan. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
The other semifinal pits No. 6 seed Penn State versus No. 7 seed Notre Dame on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, home of the Miami Dolphins.
The national championship game is Monday, Jan. 20, at 7:30 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, home of the Atlanta Falcons.
Simon posted a team-high 12 tackles to help OSU defeat No. 9 seed Tennessee, 42-17, in the first round of the CFP on Saturday, Dec. 21, in Columbus, Ohio.
Photo Courtesy of Ohio State
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