ARLINGTON, TX — As the No.7 Ohio State Buckeyes get set to face the No.9 Mizzou Tigers (6-2, 10-2) in the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, will a New Years Six Bowl win salvage an otherwise disappointing season in Columbus?
Coming off of their third straight loss vs. arch rival Michigan in Ann Arbor, Ohio State limps into north Texas with a lot of questions such as whether or not Blietenikoff Asard winning WR Marvin Harrison Jr. will stay or enter the NFL Draft, who will replace the recently departed starting quarterback Kyle McCord–now at Syracuse–and is Ryan Day coaching for his job in ‘24?
Oh, and how will Ohio State fare in the “new” B1G with incoming teams such as USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington?
While the latter won’t be answered till kickoff in Los Angeles vs. the aforementioned Bruins, the current-day Buckeyes have to turn to sophomore QB Devin Brown and a aggressive rushing Tigers defense that was one of the top in the SEC.
Brown, a 6’3 213-pound native of Gilbert, Arizona, and the Buckeyes offensive line face the tough task of trying to keep Tigers senior 6’5 296-pound DL Darius Robinson at bay, as he leads Mizzou in sacks at 7.5 and 41 total tackles. Mizzou also has an overlooked and talented defense that includes 6’0 195-pound DB Joseph Charleston, who leads the Tigers in total tackles with 59, including 38 solo tackles, four passes defended and one forced fumble.
The Tigers secondary could look to cause the inexperienced Brown some problems, if they find a way to take Harrison Jr. away, thanks to a unit that features DB’s led by 5’11, 178-pound junior defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine and his team-leading four interceptions and passes defensed (11), 6’2, 218-pound sophomore Daylan Carnell with 27 solo tackles, one forced fumble, one interception and seven passes defensed and senior Jaylon Carlies with 30 solo tackles, one forced fumble, two interceptions and four passes defensed.
Bottom line: Mizzou’s secondary can cover, tackle and force turnovers, which could spell a bad day for the Buckeyes in Jerryworld.
Lastly, The Tigers game-wrecking linebacker duo of Ty’Ron Hopper (55 total tackles, three sacks) and Chuck Hicks (49 total tackles, two sacks) could also prove to potentially make life miserable for Brown under center.
Offensively, Mizzou is led by 6’2 205-pound junior QB Brady Cook, who passes for 3,189 yards, threw 20 touchdown passes, while completing 66.4 percent of his passes under center for the Tigers. Senior running back Cody Schrader could also be a factor in keeping the Buckeyes suspect defense on their heels, as he rushed for close to 1,500 yards (1,489) on 247 carries and scoring 13 touchdowns, while averaging 6.0 yards a carry.
Lastly, Cook also has possibly one of the most dangerous home run playmakers no one has heard of on the outside in 5’11 208-pound sophomore WR Luther Burden III, who hauled in 83 catches for 1,197 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 14.4 yards per catch.
A real speed merchant, to say the least, thanks to his clocked 4.41 speed, Burden III is a name to keep an eye on in the 2025 NFL Draft.
While Ohio State is favored by 2.5 to beat Mizzou, and have the superior talent on paper, it would be wise to not sleep on a Tigers squad that can score with anybody in the country and whose only two losses came in tight games vs. No.13 LSU and two-time defending national champion, Georgia, while beating No.25 Tennessee handily.
Expect a high-scoring game with lots of fireworks between both teams looking to have the final word in what would be either a statement win for Mizzou, or a chance for the Buckeyes to end an otherwise letdown of a year by Ohio State standards on a high note.