ARLINGTON — Defense was the story as the No.9 Missouri Tigers outdueled the No.,7 Ohio State Buckeyes in the 88th annual Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on Friday night.
Trailing 3-0 for most of the game as both teams struggled to find a rhythm offensively, the Tigers managed to score 14 points in the fourth quarter to gut out a 14-3 win.
“We knew they couldn’t score so we knew the offense just had to get something going and get a little momentum to get that takeaway,” Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden said. “So we just stayed together and pulled it off.”
Ohio State mounted a sustainable drive late in the first quarter, reaching the Missouri 26-yard line behind junior running back TreVeyon Henderson. The Buckeyes lined up to go for it on fourth-and-three but called a timeout and reconsidered their decision, opting instead for a 44-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead with the game’s first points.
But the Missouri defense took over from there.
On third-and-four, the Tigers sacked quarterback Devin Brown, regaining control of the ball by forcing a punt and removing Brown from the game with an injury. Missouri converted a fourth down on the ensuing drive, but the following three plays all lost yardage, and the Tigers had to punt on fourth-and-15.
It turned out to be a great decision as they pinned the Buckeyes deep in their own territory with freshman quarterback Lincoln Kienholz entering the game, which resulted in a crucial three-and-out that gave Missouri a confidence boost that it carried for the rest of the game.
Missouri held Ohio State to just 38 yards over its final three drives of the half despite extending one with an untimely personal foul penalty and kept the Buckeyes off the scoreboard in the second half.
The Tigers finally took the lead on a seven-yard touchdown run from senior running back Cody Schrader to open the fourth quarter and put the game out of reach with a vital touchdown pass from Brady Cook to Burden with 5:12 remaining in the game.
Ohio State could not muster a comeback attempt as Keinholz was sacked and fumbled the ball away to allow Missouri to kill the clock.
“It took a lot,” Missouri defensive end Darius Robinson told the media postgame. “When you’re playing a good team, you can’t be complacent on your end, you can’t think you’re good enough or you’ll get blocked. You have to keep that edge and keep going and keep fighting. We were able to do that–our edge, energy, details and most of all consistency. We were able to display that all four quarters, and that’s why we were  able to stay locked in.”
Cook threw for 128 yards and a touchdown while running for an additional 66 yards, and Schrader added 128 yards and a touchdown on the ground — setting a new single-season program record for rushing yards.
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WHAT TO KNOW
— No.9 Missouri defeated No.7 Ohio State 14-3 in the 88th annual Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Friday night. The Tigers finish the season with 11 wins for the first time since 2014.
— It was the 13th meeting between the schools and Missouri’s second win over the Buckeyes, who now lead the all-time series 10-2-1.
— Cook was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player on offense, while linebacker Johnny Walker Jr. won the award on defense.
— Friday’s game was the final Cotton Bowl that will not be considered a College Football Playoff Game. When the field expands to 12 teams next season, the Cotton Bowl will rotate as a national quarterfinal and semifinal site.
— Ohio State finished with the fewest total yards in a New Year’s Six Bowl game since Clemson in 2018. Their 203 total yards and three points were the fewest in the Ryan Day era.
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BY THE NUMBERS
— Missouri outgained Ohio State 123-64 during the fourth quarter, including an 85-2 advantage on the ground.
— Ohio State completed just six passes after Brown’s injury.
— The 17 total points is the fewest ever scored in a New Year’s Six Bowl game, surpassing the 28 total points Baylor and Ole Miss scored in the 2022 Sugar Bowl.
–The teams combined for 188 yards, three points, 12 punts, and just 26 passing yards in the first half. They also had a combined 18 tackles for loss in the game overall.
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WHO SAID
— Schrader on becoming Missouri’s single-season rushing leader: “That’s something  pretty special. I’ve never chased individual records, but to end my career as Cotton Bowl champs with that, it’s extremely special. Shoutout to these guys that have been blocking for me  upfront for the last 13 weeks.”
— Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon on how the game changed in the second half: “Whenever we can stop the run, we can always dictate the game. It just got away from us at the end there. We tried to eliminate our penalties; some penalties got in our way. I love all my guys though; they played their hearts out. It’s not the way we want to go but I love those guys and we’re going to come back next year. ”
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NEXT UP
— Both teams head to the offseason to prepare for 2024. Each conference (the Big Ten and the SEC) will welcome additional teams next season.
