GRAPEVINE, Texas>> The games have been stacking up for Texas, which after playing in the Southeastern Conference championship game had to win two extra games in this expanded College Football Playoff to get back to the same spot they were last season.

At least the Longhorns didn’t have to travel far Wednesday for this CFP semifinal, their 16th game this season. It was only about a 45-minute flight from their campus to North Texas, where they play Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.

“You can’t take it for granted. Most people don’t get opportunities to still be playing, and then to still be playing, I mean, down the road from Austin, that’s another blessing,” All-America cornerback Jahdae Barron said after the team’s arrival.

Both the Longhorns (13-2) and Buckeyes (12-2) got to the Dallas area as scheduled ahead of an expected winter storm that was forecast bring 2 to 4 inches of snow Thursday, along with sleet and rain.

With the game played inside at AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, the weather won’t have any direct impact on the actual game that determines which will advance to the national championship.

WISCONSIN QB MOVING ON>> Tyler Van Dyke, whose only season at Wisconsin was cut short because of a major knee injury, is moving on to SMU.

The quarterback’s transfer destination was reported by multiple media outlets Wednesday.

He was a three-year starter at Miami, where he was 2021 ACC rookie of the year, and he transferred to Wisconsin after the 2023 season.

ALABAMA OL OFF TO NEBRASKA>> The Cornhuskers landed Alabama offensive lineman Elijah Pritchett, who started 11 games at right tackle and one game at left tackle this season. Pritchett fills a major area of need for the Cornhuskers. Bryce Benhart, who started a school-record 54 games, has exhausted his eligibility after having been the Cornhuskers’ primary right tackle since 2020.