In a much-needed moment of levity on what was otherwise an emotional Sunday in college football, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz lightened the mood when he joined ESPN to preview his Cotton Bowl matchup with Ohio State.

“Hey guys, I got a quick phone call, Connor Stalions beeping in right here, I’m trying to get a few signals here so I gotta go,” Drinkwitz told the College Football Playoff show. “But as soon as we get done, look forward to competing against Ryan Day and we’ll go from there.”

Host Rece Davis could barely contain himself.

Stalions is, as you remember, the former Michigan staffer accused of an in-person sign-stealing scheme to help Michigan decipher future opponents’ signals.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin re-posted the video on “X,” the social media platformer formerly known as Twitter, with a laughing emoji.

Missouri is headed to its first New Year’s Six bowl game in the 10 seasons since the four-team playoff began and will play No. 7 Ohio State, which has never missed one. They meet in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29.

The ninth-ranked Tigers (10-2, SEC) have 10 wins for the first time since 2014, when they won the Citrus Bowl in the first season of the College Football Playoff, a year after winning in their last Cotton Bowl appearance. They were 6-7 in each of the past two seasons, both ending with bowl losses.

The only loss for the Buckeyes (11-1, Big Ten) was 30-24 in their regular-season finale against Michigan, which won the Big Ten title and was the No. 1 team in the final CFP rankings released Sunday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.