Texas senator Ted Cruz thinks he’s doing the right thing by betting with the soon-to-be Vice President J.D. Vance on the Longhorns beating Ohio State on Friday night in the College Football Playoff game in the Cotton Bowl. But he is not. Because there’s the Ted Cruz Curse to contend with.

It’s not at all uncommon for politicians from one state to place a friendly wager with a cohort from another state when their respective sports teams meet on the field. Usually, the bet barely raises an eyebrow,

Ohio State College Football Playoff semifinal just got that much bigger for Ohio native Vice President-elect JD Vance and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Ted and JD know! The Cotton Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal game, is coming at us this Friday with a powerhouse matchup between Ohio State and Texas in Arlington. In fact, the game has so much hype involved with it that two high-profile Republicans are getting in on the action by slapping a bet against each other.