Texas, Ohio State fans battle travel troubles to attend Cotton Bowl

ARLINGTON, Texas – Football fans from across the country made their way to Arlington on Friday for the Cotton Bowl showdown between the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes.

For some, it wasn’t easy, with Thursday’s winter storm delaying and canceling flights.

Longhorn, Buckeye fans make frustrating trip to Arlington

The backstory:

More than 70,000 fans are expected to attend the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Friday night, but several inches of snow fell across North Texas from Thursday to Friday morning.

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For snow lovers, the snow that was on the ground from Thursday is still there. However, the total accumulation did not increase much overnight.

More than 1,800 flights in and out of DFW and Dallas Love Field airports were canceled on Thursday and hundreds more were canceled on Friday.

Even though the snow stopped falling on Friday morning, there were still several slick spots on North Texas roads on Friday morning.

What they’re saying:

Ohio State fans Mark Lowary and his son Braidan managed to make it to North Texas Friday morning after their plane was de-iced in El Paso and cleared for takeoff.

“We started in California, it was a direct flight to Dallas and about 20 minutes out of Dallas they told us we weren’t going to be able to land got diverted to El Paso. Spent the night in El Paso,” said Mark Lowary.

“I feel like we should’ve never left Ontario, California if they knew there was a chance Dallas would be a nightmare yesterday, but whatever, we’re here, so I’m happy about that.,” said Braidan Lowary.

Texas fan Steven Holloway drove up from the Austin area on Friday morning to pick up his son who is flying in from New York City.

“He was about 15 minutes late out of LaGuardia this morning and about 15 minutes late getting here, but we’re fine, we’re good,” Holloway said with a smile.

Others decided to tough it out on the roads.

The Riley family, Buckeye fans from Oklahoma City, got into North Texas late Thursday night, despite the snowy conditions.

“When we bought our tickets originally, it was supposed to be 49 and sunny and then that changed quickly, but we weren’t going to miss it either way,” said Erica Riley.

“We would slip and slide every now and then, but once we put it in 4-wheel drive it wasn’t too bad,” said Chase Riley.

Ohio State fan Robyn McGuffee drove in from Louisiana on Thursday. When she reached Terrell, the roads started to get bad, so she called her husband who brought her, and her car, the rest of the way.

“Luckily my husband is a tow truck driver, and he was here, and he loaded my car on the back of his tow truck and drove me in,” said McGuffee. “It comes in handy.”

Arlington, TX Weather – Cotton Bowl Forecast

Despite a winter storm in North Texas, organizers opted against moving the game.

The city of Arlington and the Texas Department of Transportation said the roads surrounding AT&T Stadium are safe to drive on.

A TxDOT spokesperson said its crews have been out 24/7 treating the roads. Additional crews from across the state have also been mobilized to North Texas to help with Cotton Bowl operations.

Texas vs Ohio State: How to watch, stream

Texas Longhorns vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
Where: AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas
Date: Friday, Jan. 10
Time: 6:30 p.m. (CT)
TV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN, DirecTV, Hulu with Live TV, Fubo, YouTube TV (with subscription)

The Source: Information in this article comes from interviews with fans who traveled to North Texas for the Cotton Bowl, the College Football Playoff, the FOX 4 Weather team and past FOX 4 coverage.

Arlington Winter Weather College Football Playoff