Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

No. 9 Missouri (10-2) vs. No. 7 Ohio State (11-1)

7 p.m. CST Friday (ESPN)

AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas

0 Previous starts for Ohio State’s Devin Brown, who will line up at quarterback for the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl. Brown completed 12-of-22 passes for 197 yards with two TDs and one interception and ran for 35 yards on 19 carries during the 2023 season. Brown will play because QB Kyle McCord has transferred to Syracuse after completing 229-of-348 passes for 3,170 yards with 24 TDs and six interceptions for Ohio State in 2023.

0 Halftime deficits for Missouri this season. The Tigers led against South Dakota State, Middle Tennessee, Kansas State, Memphis, Vanderbilt, LSU, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas and were tied with Georgia at halftime. LSU rallied from a 25-17 halftime deficit for a 49-39 victory, and Georgia pulled away for a 30-21 victory.

1 Previous Cotton Bowl has matched SEC and Big Ten teams. On Dec. 31, 2015, Alabama defeated Michigan State 38-0 in a CFP semifinal game. The SEC has a 24-16-1 record in the Cotton Bowl, with Alabama’s 27-6 victory over Cincinnati on Dec. 31, 2021, the conference’s most recent appearance. The Big Ten has a 5-1 record in the Cotton Bowl, with Penn State’s 53-39 victory over Memphis on Dec. 28, 2019, the conference’s most recent appearance.

1 Ohio State player has posted two 1,000-yard receiving seasons, with WR Marvin Harrison Jr. reaching the milestone again with 1,211 yards and 14 TDs on 67 receptions in 2023. Harrison won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best receiver this season, but he is not expected to play in the Cotton Bowl.

2 Missouri coaches have guided the Tigers to bowls in their first four seasons – Warren Powers in 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981 and Eliah Drinkwitz in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

3 Missouri teams have won at least 11 games. The 2014 Tigers have an 11-3 record, and Missouri went 12-2 in 2007 and 2013.

3 Previous Cotton Bowl appearances for Missouri. The Tigers lost to Texas 40-27 on Jan. 1, 1946, and defeated Arkansas 38-7 on Jan. 1, 2008, and Oklahoma State 41-31 on Jan. 3, 2014. Ohio State has won both its Cotton Bowl appearances, defeating Texas A&M 28-12 on Jan. 1, 1987, and Southern Cal 24-7 on Dec. 29, 2017. The Buckeyes will become the first Big Ten member to play in three Cotton Bowls.

3 Missouri players have recorded 1,000-yard receiving seasons during the Tigers’ SEC era, including WR Luther Burden III, who has 1,197 yards and eight TDs on 83 receptions in 2023. Bud Sasser in 2014 and J’Mon Moore in 2016 and 2017 also have recorded 1,000 receiving yards in a season since Missouri joined the SEC in 2012. Before the Tigers joined the SEC, they had six 1,000-yard receiving seasons by Victor Bailey in 1992, Justin Gage in 2002, Jeremy Maclin in 2007 and 2008, Danario Alexander in 2009 and T.J. Moe in 2010.

4 Missouri players have passed for 3,000 yards in one season, including QB Brady Cook this season. Cook has completed 233-of-349 passes for 3,189 yards with 20 TDs and five interceptions. Chase Daniel holds the school record for passing yards in a season with 4,335 in 2008. Daniel also was a 3,000-yard passer in 2006 and 2007. Drew Lock threw for 3,000 yards for Missouri in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and Blaine Gabbert did so in 2009 and 2019.

5 Victories, 13 losses and one tie for Ohio State against SEC opponents. The Buckeyes’ most recent game against an SEC opponent is a 42-41 loss to Georgia in the CFP semifinals on Dec. 31, 2022. Ohio State has a 2-12 record against SEC opponents in postseason games. The Buckeyes have a 26-28 overall bowl record.

5 Consecutive 100-yard rushing games for Missouri RB Cody Schrader after he had 217 yards and one TD on 27 carries in a 48-14 victory over Arkansas on Nov. 24. Schrader ran for 159 yards in a 34-12 victory over South Carolina on Oct. 21, 112 yards in a 30-21 loss to Georgia on Nov. 4, 205 yards in a 36-7 victory over Tennessee on Nov. 11 and 148 yards in a 33-31 victory over Florida on Nov. 18.

10 Victories for Ohio State, one victory for Missouri and one tie in the Buckeyes-Tigers series. Missouri upended No. 2 Ohio State 22-21 on Sept. 25, 1976. The Buckeyes have won the two games since in 1997 and 1998. The tie came by a 13-13 score in 1946.

13 TDs have been scored against Ohio State this season, the fewest in the nation. The Buckeyes are yielding an average of 11.0 points per game in 2023. Missouri has averaged scoring 34.1 points per game.

15 Victories and 20 losses for Missouri in bowls. The Tigers have lost their four bowl appearances since a 33-17 victory over Minnesota in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015. Missouri has a 2-4 bowl record since joining the SEC in 2012.

16 Consecutive games with at least one TD pass for Missouri QB Brady Cook. Cook’s most recent game without a TD pass is a 26-18 loss to Kentucky on Nov. 5, 2022. Cook has passed for 28 TDs during the streak, and Missouri has won 12 of the games.

36 Victories, 42 losses and four ties for Missouri against Big Ten opponents. The Tigers’ most recent game against a Big Ten opponent came on Sept. 15, 2018, when Missouri defeated Purdue 40-37. The Tigers have three previous bowl matchups against Big Ten opponents. Missouri defeated Northwestern 30-23 in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29, 2008, and Minnesota 33-17 in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015, and lost to Iowa 27-24 in the Insight Bowl on Dec. 28, 2010.

50 Consecutive red-zone possessions have resulted in points for Missouri. The Tigers have scored on 54 of their 55 trips inside their opponents’ 20-yard line in 2023 and have the best success rate in the nation with 34 TDs and 20 field goals. Ohio State’s opponents have scored on 19 of their 25 red-zone possessions, with 11 TDs and eight field goals.

106 Rushing yards are needed by Missouri RB Cody Schrader to break the school single-season record of 1,604 set by Tyler Badie in 2021. Schrader leads the nation with an average of 124.9 rushing yards per game. He has 1,499 yards and 13 TDs on 247 rushing attempts in 2023.

403 Points have been scored by Missouri K Harrison Mevis, the most in school history. With 86 field goals and 145 extra points, Mevis became the eighth player in SEC history to score at least 400 points. His 86 field goals rank third in conference history.

1,769 Passing yards have been yielded by the Ohio State defense this season, the fewest in the nation. The Buckeyes have given up eight TD passes and an average of 147.4 passing yards per game. The Missouri offense has averaged 273.5 passing yards per game and has 22 TD passes.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.