Mizzou Selected for Cotton Bowl vs Ohio State

Mizzou football has been selected for the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State in Dallas at AT&T Stadium on Friday, December 29th. The Tigers have never been selected for a New Year's Six bowl since they were formed in the 2014 season. The game will be ESPN.

Missouri has now made a bowl game for the third straight year. The Tigers were one of the most improved teams in college football this year, going from a 6-6 regular season finish in 2022 to 10-2 in 2023. The Tigers have gone 0-4 in their last four bowl appearances, making their last bowl win a 33-17 victory over Minnesota in the 2014 Citrus Bowl. 

Ohio State was ranked at No. 7 in the most recent Associated Press Top 25 poll, two spots ahead of Missouri at No. 9. Ohio State finished the regular season with a 11-1 record, with their only loss coming to Michigan in the final week of the season. 

Missouri was led by an explosive offense that average 34 points per game. Running back Cody Schrader finished the year with 1,489 rushing yards, the highest in the SEC for 2023, and the third most in a single season in Missouri history. Quarterback Brady Cook's 3,189 passing yards and wide receiver Luther Burden III's 1,197 receiving yards were both the third highest in those categories for the SEC.

Missouri has only played Ohio State 12 times in the two school's histories , going 1-10-1 in the series. The last times the two teams met was in 1998 where the Buckeyes came with a 35-14 victory in Columbus.