Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s crew are Arlington bound against the 11-1 Ohio State Buckeyes
Did you have any doubt? The Missouri Tigers were selected to play the No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl on Football’s version of the Reaping Day.
Missouri is Arlington bound, landing in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic against Big Ten opponent Ohio State on Friday, December 29th. The kick-off is set for 7 PM CST on ESPN. The game will take place at AT&T Stadium — home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
The bowl matchup was revealed on ESPN’s selection show, and later confirmed by the program.
#9 vs #7…see you in Texas.#MIZ | #STP pic.twitter.com/AzaXs9xaI7
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) December 3, 2023
The Buckeyes finished the regular season with an 11-1 record, with their only loss coming against the current top-ranked team in the country, the Michigan Wolverines. Ohio State went into that game 11-0, and could effectively guarantee themselves a spot in the playoff if they won but they failed to do so in Ann Arbor.
Ohio State is led by their star wideout Marvin Harrison Jr., who totaled 67 receptions for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, but his performance should be taken with a grain of salt as it is unclear whether Harrison will play in the game given the fact that he is likely the highest-touted wideout for the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
As far as location is concerned, the Cotton Bowl is likely Missouri’s best option, given that it is a nine-hour drive and Missouri has a large alumni influence in the Dallas metro area. Nonetheless, this is going to be a huge opportunity for Mizzou to show what they can do against one of College Football’s premier programs.
Looking at Bill Connelly’s SP+ Rankings, the SP+ has Mizzou as the 12th ranked team in the country and Ohio State as the 3rd ranked team, making this a tough draw for this Missouri team. The opening spread from the Action Network has Ohio State as 7.5 point favorites.
Missouri has played Ohio State 12 times, with Ohio State maintaining a commanding series lead of 10-1-1. However, the last time these two teams played was in 1998 when the Buckeyes took down the Tigers 35-14 in Columbus.
Missouri is looking for their first bowl win since the 2014 Citrus Bowl against Minnesota, in a season where unlike this one, Mizzou made the SEC Championship Game but were omitted from a true NY6 bowl.
Get your travels planned, as the Tigers are going bowling and have a chance to put an exclamation point on a potential 11-2 season!