2023 Cotton Bowl Classic (December)

2023 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
2023 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
88th Cotton Bowl Classic
Missouri Tigers	Ohio State Buckeyes
(10–2)	(11–1)
SEC	Big Ten
14	3
Head coach: ; Eliah Drinkwitz	Head coach: ; Ryan Day
Date	December 29, 2023
Season	2023
Stadium	AT&T Stadium
Location	Arlington, Texas
MVP	Offensive: Brady Cook (QB, Missouri); Defensive: Johnny Walker Jr. (DL, Missouri)
Favorite	Ohio State by 3.5
Referee	Derek Anderson (Big 12)
Attendance	70,114
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN; ESPN Radio
Announcers	Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), and Tom Luginbill (sideline) (ESPN); Brad Sham (play-by-play), Kirk Morrison (analyst), and Taylor McGregor (sideline) (ESPN Radio)
Cotton Bowl Classic
< 2023 (Jan.)	2025 (Jan.) >

The 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic was a college football bowl game played on December 29, 2023 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The 88th annual Cotton Bowl Classic featured Missouri of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Ohio State of the Big Ten Conference—teams selected at-large by the College Football Playoff selection committee. The game began at approximately 7:00 p.m. CST and was aired on ESPN.^[3]^[4] The Cotton Bowl Classic was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and was officially known as the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

Teams

The game featured Ohio State from the Big Ten Conference and Missouri from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). This was the 13th all-time meeting between the Buckeyes and Tigers, with Ohio State leading the series 10–1–1.^[5] Their most recent prior meeting was September 19, 1998, a 35–14 Buckeyes win at home. Missouri's lone win came during the 1976 season.

Missouri

Missouri started the season 5–0, including a victory over No. 15 Kansas State on a game-winning 61-yard field goal by Harrison Mevis. The Tigers were subsequently ranked in the AP poll. However, they were defeated at home by LSU, 49–39, and three weeks later lost on the road to top-ranked Georgia, 30–21, ending their SEC title hopes. Missouri followed their loss to Georgia with a strong 36–7 win over Tennessee, and ended their season on a three-game winning streak and a 10–2 record (6–2 in SEC). The Tigers entered the bowl ranked ninth in all major polls.

This was Missouri's fourth Cotton Bowl Classic; the Tigers had a record of 2–1 in prior Cotton Bowls, losing the January 1946 edition and winning the January 2008 edition and January 2014 edition.

Ohio State

Ohio State entered the year looking to improve upon their 2022 season, when they received a College Football Playoff berth but lost to Georgia in the 2022 Peach Bowl semifinal. The Buckeyes earned marquee wins over Notre Dame and Penn State by margins of 17–14 and 20–12, respectively. However, in a top-three rivalry clash against Michigan in their final game of the regular season, the Buckeyes lost 30–24 in Ann Arbor, leaving them with an 11–1 record (8–1 in Big Ten) and out of playoff contention. The Buckeyes entered the bowl ranked seventh in all major polls.

This was Ohio State's third Cotton Bowl Classic; the Buckeyes won both of their prior two appearances, the January 1987 edition and December 2017 edition.

Game summary

2023 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 9 Missouri Tigers	0	0	0	14	14
No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes	3	0	0	0	3

at AT&T Stadium • Arlington, Texas

Date: Friday, December 29, 2023
Game time: 7:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: N/A (indoor stadium with retractable roof)
Game attendance: 70,114
Referee: Derek Anderson
TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), and Tom Luginbill (sideline)
Box score

Game information

First quarter

(3:12) OSU – Jayden Fielding 44 yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 27 yards, 2:35; Ohio State 3–0)

Second quarter

No scoring

Third quarter

No scoring

Fourth quarter

(14:55) MIZ – Cody Schrader 7 yard run, Harrison Mevis kick (Drive: 8 plays, 95 yards, 4:30; Missouri 7–3)
(5:12) MIZ – Luther Burden III 7 yard pass from Brady Cook, Harrison Mevis kick (Drive: 13 plays, 91 yards, 6:10; Missouri 14–3)

Statistics

Statistics	MIZZ	OSU
First downs	19	12
Total yards	331	203
Rushing yards	203	97
Passing yards	128	106
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	11–18–0	10–24–0
Time of possession	33:53	26:07

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Missouri	Passing	Brady Cook	11–18, 128 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Cody Schrader	29 carries, 128 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Marquis Johnson	1 reception, 50 yards
Ohio State	Passing	Lincoln Kienholz	6–17, 86 yards
	Rushing	TreVeyon Henderson	19 carries, 72 yards
	Receiving	Emeka Egbuka	6 receptions, 63 yards

References

^ Parks, James (December 11, 2023). "College football bowl schedule, game odds, point spreads for 2023–24". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
^ Austro, Ben (December 3, 2023). "2023–24 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
^ Straka, Dean. "2023–24 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
^ Lewis, Barry. "2023–24 College Football Bowl Schedule, Dates, Times Announced". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
^ "Winsipedia: Ohio State vs. Missouri". Winsipedia. Retrieved December 3, 2023.

External links

Game statistics at statbroadcast.com

[1] Parks, James (December 11, 2023). "College football bowl schedule, game odds, point spreads for 2023–24". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 13, 2023.

[2] Austro, Ben (December 3, 2023). "2023–24 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.

[3] Straka, Dean. "2023–24 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2023.

[4] Lewis, Barry. "2023–24 College Football Bowl Schedule, Dates, Times Announced". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 28, 2023.

[5] "Winsipedia: Ohio State vs. Missouri". Winsipedia. Retrieved December 3, 2023.

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v t e 2023–24 NCAA football bowl game season
Myrtle Beach (Dec. 16) Celebration (Dec. 16) New Orleans (Dec. 16) Cure (Dec. 16) New Mexico (Dec. 16) LA (Dec. 16) Independence (Dec. 16) Famous Toastery (Dec. 18) Frisco (Dec. 19) Boca Raton (Dec. 21) Gasparilla (Dec. 22) Birmingham (Dec. 23) Camellia (Dec. 23) Armed Forces (Dec. 23) Famous Idaho Potato (Dec. 23) 68 Ventures (Dec. 23) Las Vegas (Dec. 23) Hawaii (Dec. 23) Quick Lane (Dec. 26) First Responder (Dec. 26) Guaranteed Rate (Dec. 26) Military (Dec. 27) Duke's Mayo (Dec. 27) Holiday (Dec. 27) Texas (Dec. 27) Fenway (Dec. 28) Pinstripe (Dec. 28) Pop-Tarts (Dec. 28) Alamo (Dec. 28) Gator (Dec. 29) Sun (Dec. 29) Liberty (Dec. 29) Cotton (Dec. 29) Peach (Dec. 30) Music City (Dec. 30) Orange (Dec. 30) Arizona (Dec. 30) ReliaQuest (Jan. 1) Fiesta (Jan. 1) Citrus (Jan. 1)
College Football Playoff games: Rose (Jan. 1) Sugar (Jan. 1) National Championship Game (Jan. 8)
All-Star Games Hula Bowl (Jan. 13) Tropical Bowl (Jan. 20) East–West Shrine Bowl (Feb. 1) Senior Bowl (Feb. 3) HBCU Legacy Bowl (Feb. 24)

v t e Cotton Bowl Classic
History & conference tie-ins	History Cotton Bowl AT&T Stadium College Football Playoff Playoff at-large Group of Five
Games	1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 (January) 1966 (December) 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (January) 2015 (December) 2017 (January) 2017 (December) 2018 2019 2020 2021 2023 (January) 2023 (December) 2025 (January) 2025 (December)
Notes	There was a Cotton Bowl Classic in January and December in 1966, 2015, 2017, 2023, 2025. The 2015 (December), 2018, 2021, and 2025 (January) editions were College Football Playoff semifinals.