Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin plays against Texas on Aug. 30 in Columbus, Ohio. (AP file photo)

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Cotton Bowl has certainly gotten much more significant for Ohio State during three trips in a row to the game.

This time, the second-seeded Buckeyes (12-1) are defending national champions as they get ready to play College Football Playoff first-timer Miami (11-2, CFP No. 10 seed) in a quarterfinal game there Wednesday night. The Cotton Bowl last January was a CFP semifinal game when Ohio State beat Texas for the third of four wins needed last postseason for a sixth AP national title.

As for the first of those appearances in North Texas two years ago, that was the last season before the CFP expanded from four to 12 teams and when it wasn’t the Cotton Bowl’s turn as one of the playoff games. The Buckeyes arrived then coming off a regular season-ending loss to rival Michigan after a 10-0 start. Their starting quarterback (Kyle McCord) had transferred and NFL-bound All-American receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. opted out of playing in what was a 14-3 loss to Missouri.

“Just more stakes than the first game I’ve ever played in here. … Now it’s a bowl game with the playoffs on the line, so it just means more,” senior receiver Carnell Tate said Monday on the field at AT&T Stadium.

“It wasn’t CFP, so I felt like the job was not accomplished. We kind of fell short of our initial goal, and then when we played here, our quarterback ended up transferring. It was a whole lot of stuff going on,” senior cornerback Davison Igbinosun said. “It was definitely a tough game. It really didn’t feel like a typical Ohio State game, and then here last year and back in the playoffs, and that was a great game.”

Ohio State hasn’t played since losing 13-10 to No. 1 Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game matchup of undefeated teams on Dec. 6, and still got a first-round bye.

Miami, which is 24 years removed from its last national title, made its CFP debut with a 10-3 win in the first round at No. 7 seed Texas A&M on Dec. 20. The Hurricanes made the 12-team playoff field even after not making the Atlantic Coast Conference title game and that league’s champ (five-loss Duke) not getting a bid.

When the Hurricanes left Dallas after a 26-20 overtime loss at SMU on Nov. 1, their second loss in three games after a 5-0 start, they weren’t even sure they would make the playoff. Now they are back in Texas for their second playoff game in a row and with another five-game winning streak.

“That was a low point for us in the season, and in that locker room, it was as simple as a decision has to be made,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said Monday. “It came down to the simplicity of taking all the clips of us in our first five games and putting it on a reel and just letting it play. No audio, no one’s talking, no nothing. Just shut the lights, remind ourselves of who we are. And there’s nothing more powerful than the power of choice.”

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