The 2023 Cotton Bowl will take place on Friday, December 29^th, at 8:00 PM ET and will feature the 9^th-ranked Missouri Tigers facing the 7^th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium with the game airing on ESPN.

 

The Missouri Tigers were one of the surprise teams this season as they finished the regular season in 2^nd place in the East Division of the SEC with a record of 10-2 and enter this game on a three-game winning streak following a 48-14 win on the road against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the regular season finale.

 

The Tigers had one of the best passing offenses and were one of the highest-scoring teams in college football this season as they enter this game averaging 262 passing yards and 34.08 points per game. Brady Cook was one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC this season and enters this game having completed 232 of 348 attempts for 3,182 yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for 253 yards and eight touchdowns.

 

Defensively, Missouri had one of the better-scoring defenses as they allowed an average of 22.33 points per game. The Missouri Tigers will look to extend their winning streak to four games when they play the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2023 Cotton Bowl. 

 

Ohio State only lost one game this season and that was in the season finale on the road against the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 24-30 and the Buckeyes finished the season with a record of 11-1. The Buckeyes lost to the Wolverines for the 3^rd season in a row and unlike last season they weren’t voted into the college football playoffs.

 

However, Ohio State was one of the best teams in college football and had one of the best defenses and offenses in the nation as they enter this game allowing the 2^nd fewest points per game with an average of 11 points per game while averaging 32.83 points per game and had one of the best passing offenses in college football as they averaged 272.58 passing yards per game.

 

Marvin Harrison Jr. had another phenomenal season as he led the team in receiving with 67 receptions for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Ohio State Buckeyes will look to bounce back from the loss in their regular season finale when they play the Missouri Tigers in the 2023 Cotton Bowl on Friday night.

 

BookMaker has the Missouri Tigers listed as 2-point favorites against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2023 Cotton Bowl on Friday night. Ohio State has won both games all-time in the series while the teams are 1-1 ATS in those matchups with the last meeting having occurred in the 1998 season and resulted in a 35-14 win for the Ohio State Buckeyes at home and a 26-point cover for the Missouri Tigers as an underdog. The Missouri Tigers are 8-4 ATS overall and 4-3 ATS as a favorite this season while the Ohio State Buckeyes are 7-4-1 ATS overall and 0-1 ATS as an underdog on the year.

 

Kyle McCord will not be the starting quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes in the bowl game following a transfer to the Syracuse Orange and that may affect one of the better passing offenses. The Tigers have been the better team at covering the spread this season as they are 8-4 ATS overall while the Buckeyes are 7-4-1 ATS overall.

 

However, Ohio State can beat any team in the country and can do it on the ground as well as through the air and I look for Marvin Harrison Jr. to have a monster game against the Missouri Tigers. Take the point with the Ohio State Buckeyes when they face the Missouri Tigers in the 2023 Cotton Bowl on Friday night.