Ohio State players kneel in prayer on field before Cotton Bowl victory
Several Ohio State University football players prayed on the field before the Cotton Bowl last Friday, in which the Buckeyes emerged with a 28-14 victory, sending them to the National Championship next Monday.
Video footage from Friday's game between Ohio State and the University of Texas shows nearly every Ohio State player running out onto the field and kneeling in prayer on the field before the game.
Ohio State ultimately won the game played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Buckeyes will advance to the National Championship, scheduled for Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. They will face the University of Notre Dame, which beat Penn State last Thursday.
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Ohio State players have not shied away from displaying their faith this season.
On Nov. 30, as several members of the University of Michigan and Ohio State football teams engaged in an on-field brawl after the Michigan Wolverines attempted to plant their team's flag on the Ohio State Buckeyes' football field after the former team beat the latter team in a regular season game, other players from the opposing teams known for their bitter rivalry gathered in prayer on the field.
Video footage shared by CBS Sports reporter Brandon Marcello showed two members of the Buckeyes, along with one Wolverine player, huddled in prayer as chaos that resulted in both teams paying fines of $100,000 for their conduct unfolded around them.
Another photo shared by Caroline Rice of the Ohio State athletics-centered publication The Ozone documented a much larger group of Ohio State players united in prayer.
A video from a game between the Buckeyes and the University of Nebraska in October shows members of the opposing teams huddled in prayer on the field.
In August, a few Buckeye football players gave testimonies about their relationships with Jesus during an on-campus revival event organized by Christian groups. Hundreds of people attended the event outside OSU's Curl Market. About 60 people were baptized, according to the student newspaper The Lantern.
Ohio State's victory in the Cotton Bowl did not go unnoticed by Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, the vice president-elect of the United States who is an Ohio State fan.
In an X post shortly after his team's Cotton Bowl victory, he joked, "Hopefully everyone is cool with me skipping the inauguration so I can go to the national title game."
The National Championship coincides with Inauguration Day, when President-elect Donald Trump and Vance are slated to take office as the 47th President and 50th Vice President of the United States, respectively.
In a reply to his X post, Vance shared a meme featuring an image of a hand deliberating on whether to press a button reading "attend your own inauguration" or another one stating "go watch the Buckeyes win a national title."
The bottom image on the meme shows a visibly stressed man holding a handkerchief to his sweat-drenched face, agonizing over which of the dueling options to select.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
