Cotton Bowl Preview: No. 9 Missouri Tigers vs. No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes may run into difficulties in the Cotton Bowl against the Missouri Tigers, who boast one of the strongest offenses in the Southeastern Conference and a formidable defense.
One of the biggest tests of the season for the No. 9 Missouri Tigers is the 2023 Cotton Bowl matchup with the No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes.
If the Buckeyes neglect their study, the Tigers, who have a strong offense and a formidable defense (even by Southeastern Conference standards), can pose a serious threat to them.
Missouri is 10-2 after 12 games this season, including five games against top-25-ranked teams. The Tigers are 3-2 in those games with wins against No. 15 Missouri State, No. 24 Kentucky and No. 13 Tennessee, and losses to No. 23 LSU and No. 2 Georgia (all of those rankings were current at the time of the game).
Junior quarterback Brady Cook has been behind center for the Tigers for all but seven pass attempts this season, with six coming from backup signal-caller Sam Horn and the other from kicker Luke Bauer. A St. Louis, Missouri native, Cook has piled up 3,189 passing yards (19 more than Ohio State starting quarterback Kyle McCord) and 20 touchdowns.
Sophomore Luther Burden III is the leading receiver for the Tigers with eight touchdowns and 1,197 yards, which is almost 830 more yards than his total last season. Senior defensive lineman Darius Robinson is another name for which the Buckeyes and their fans should watch out, boasting 41 tackles and 7.5 sacks on the year (which cost opponents 50 yards).
Twelve meetings between Ohio State and Missouri have preceded their forthcoming Cotton Bowl matchup. Only one of those prior meetings—a 22-21 victory on September 25, 1976—has seen the Tigers win; the other nine have had ten Buckeye victors and one draw.
On Friday, December 29, the Missouri Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes square off in Arlington, Texas for the 2023 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. ESPN will broadcast live coverage of the game from AT&T Stadium starting at 8 p.m.
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