Ohio State vs. Missouri: 5 things to know about the Cotton Bowl matchup

The 12-team Playoff can’t come soon enough for Ohio State and for the sake of better postseason matchups.

The old conference and bowl tie-in system means No. 7 Ohio State’s consolation prize for losing to Michigan is No. 9 Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. No point in rehashing why we arrived at this schedule. But because of it, there will be no extra TV eyeballs on Dallas on a Friday night during holiday week. And the theme continues the next day with Ole Miss vs. Penn State in the Peach Bowl and Georgia vs. Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Then start the new year off with Liberty and Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. Can’t wait.

Too bad the suits who decide such things didn’t get to give us Ohio State and Georgia in a rematch of last year’s best Playoff game. That would be far better TV. No one wants to watch Florida State. The committee made that abundantly clear.

A year from now when these games truly matter, the matchups will be more intriguing. But, for now, they will get lost in the shuffle of all the other bowl games.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said all the right things Sunday afternoon.

“We had the situation a couple years ago in the Rose Bowl and it built momentum into the next year,” Day said. “We always want to be playing for a championship this time of year, but we’re going to finish things and do things the right way.”

Even though this feels like a consolation prize, this game matters for Day. He’s been criticized and beaten down for losing 3 straight games to Michigan. A loss won’t cost him his job, but it would increase the pressure even more going into next season. Can’t beat Michigan, can’t beat the SEC.

Day’s OSU legacy isn’t complete … and probably not by a long shot. He has time to turn around his 1-6 record against CFP top 5 teams. But he doesn’t need a new low. If he thinks losing to Michigan is unacceptable, try losing to Missouri in a bowl game. Day is in a can’t-win situation. If he wins, he was supposed to in a game that doesn’t matter. If he loses, then that same game suddenly matters a lot. And in a way no one wants.

To add to the challenge, Day will likely be without a handful of starters who opt out to preserve their health for the NFL Draft. Receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka feel like foregone conclusions. Defensive end JT Tuimoloau, defensive back Denzel Burke and injury-prone running back TreVeyon Henderson are also prime candidates to opt out. Harrison will be one of the first players drafted. The other three could all be drafted as soon as late in the first round. At least 13 Buckeyes could be drafted, so the list could get long.

Here are 5 things to know about Missouri.

No. 1: The coaches know each other

Day’s first response when asked about Missouri was to praise head coach Eli Drinkwitz, who is in his fourth season at Missouri. After a 5-5 season and consecutive 6-7 seasons, the Tigers (10-2) broke through this season. It was in a 30-21 loss at Georgia that the Tigers got national attention. Then they thumped Tennessee 36-7 the next week.

“Coach Drinkwitz is a very good coach — somebody that I’ve had communication with over the years. I’ve actually followed them some this year because I know him and have a lot of respect for him. It should be a good matchup. They have a really good team.”

Drinkwitz is considered one of the game’s top offensive minds, which explains his connection to Day. Drinkwitz has overseen productive passing games at Boise State, North Carolina State and Appalachian State. Drinkwitz was the head coach at App State in 2019 and led the Mountaineers to a 12-1 record and No. 20 ranking.

No. 2: Offensive star power

Missouri averages 34.1 points a game and ranks No. 25 in total offense behind players you might not have heard of. Senior running back Cody Schrader, junior quarterback Brady Cook and sophomore wide receiver Luther Burden III are the players to watch.

Schrader is 3rd in the nation in rushing yards (1,499) and leads in yards per game (124.9). Cook’s top target Burden and Harrison are likely to draw some comparisons, at least statistically. Burden has 83 catches and Harrison has 67. Harrison averages almost 4 yards more a catch and has more touchdowns: 14 to 8.

No. 3: Leaky pass defense

The Tigers rank No. 62 in pass defense, allowing 222.2 yards a game and almost 2 passing touchdowns a game. That could be good news for an Ohio State passing game looking to prove something after an up-and-down season for quarterback Kyle McCord.

Add the fact that Harrison and Egbuka could skip the game to prepare for the NFL Draft, and this could be even better news for McCord. He needs to show Day he is still the man for the job. And what better way to do it than with a strong showing throwing to the guys (Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss) who will likely be in the starting lineup next season.

No. 4: Mindset

This game means more to Missouri. The Tigers don’t have much history in this level of bowl games, so it feels more like a reward than consolation. They will want to show that they will be a player in the SEC for years to come to the public and to recruits.

Drinkwitz and his staff can tell recruits that they were good enough to be in a 12-team playoff this year. And he’s already shown he can recruit. His 2021 class was ranked No. 20 by Rivals and his 20022 class was ranked No. 19. Those are the program’s highest rated classes.

No. 5: Exceeded expectations

If you are surprised to see Ohio State traveling to Dallas, Missouri fans are even more surprised.

The Tigers weren’t supposed to be this good. Most predictions saw them as the No. 6 team in the SEC East and fighting to finish .500. But here the Tigers are with offensive weapons that took a big step forward and a defense that has been good enough except against perennial SEC powers Georgia and LSU.

Jeff Gilbert