What we learned from the Missouri Tigers’ Cotton Bowl win vs. the Ohio State Buckeyes
A reporter called them “The Big Three” in the lead-up to the game.
And boy, did the St. Louis trio prove that nickname right.
When the Missouri Tigers seemed down and out, they turned to running back Cody Schrader, quarterback Brady Cook and wide receiver Luther Burden III. And they came to the rescue.
No. 9 Mizzou, at the end of its spellbinding season, is the 2023 Cotton Bowl champion. The Tigers claimed the New Year’s Six Bowl win with a 14-3 victory over No. 7 Ohio State on Friday evening at AT&T Stadium.
For a while, there were more punts than completed passes. Mizzou won’t care one bit, as the Tigers finish the year 11-2, with their first bowl victory of the Eli Drinkwitz era.
Here are three takeaways from MU’s bowl win in Texas against the Buckeyes:
Cody Schrader’s Missouri Tigers swan song
Nothing was working. Indeed, nothing the Tigers tried looked remotely close to working.
That is, until speedy freshman wide receiver Marquis Johnson, playing in his home state, took off downfield late in the third quarter and hauled in Cook’s pass for a 49-yard gain to the Ohio State 15-yard line.
To that point, Missouri had managed just 40 passing yards. The Tigers had not yet visited the red zone.
An illegal substitution took Missouri to the 10, but a false start sent them right back. Cook hustled for eight yards, bringing an end to the third quarter.
And then senior running back Cody Schrader, the hero of so many Mizzou wins during this marvelous run to the New Year’s Six, did what he’s so often done: He tore right up the middle, took a couple hits from Buckeyes who’d beaten MU’s offense blue all evening, and stayed upright long enough to fall across the goal line.
Touchdown. Tigers 7, Buckeyes 3. Points, at last.
And of course it was Schrader, who was playing in his final college football game and broke the Tigers’ single-season rushing record Friday night.
Gutsy fourth-down call seals it
It was fourth-and-1 for Mizzou on the edge of the red zone with 6:38 remaining in the fourth quarter. Drinkwitz called a timeout.
Placekicker Harrison Mevis joined the huddle. Surely, a touchdown lead would suit Mizzou. But with a minute remaining until the all-important do-or-die play, the kicker walked back to the sideline.
Missouri was going for gold. And Cook didn’t disappoint.
He faked a pitch left — the second time he’d done that on fourth down Friday — turned his attention the middle of the field and took off running for a first down. Cook would later be named the Cotton Bowl Offensive MVP, with 19 carries for 66 yards and 128 yards and a touchdown on 11-of-18 passing.
Next, Schrader took a carry to the left for 11 yards. He scampered three more on the next play.
Then it was time for the Tigers’ St. Louis quarterback-receiver duo to connect. Cook found Burden for 7 yards — nearly doubling Burden’s receiving yards for the day — at the back edge of the end zone.
Burden spiked the football. The Tigers had a two-score lead.
The day was done.
Defenses dial up the heat
The Tigers’ late turnaround masked a lot of offensive inefficiencies.
Whatever the Cotton Bowl officials budgeted for first-half, post-touchdown fireworks, they overspent.
By the end of the first quarter, the teams had combined for just 104 total yards of offense and 27 passing yards. The only points on the board were courtesy of a 44-yard field goal by Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding.
Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker was awarded a contract extension, the team announced about a week ago. He celebrated Friday by bringing the heat.
Joe Moore III recovered a fumble with three minutes remaining in the game after safety Daylan Carnell sacked third-string quarterback Lincoln Kienholz.
MU defensive end Johnny Walker Jr. — who’d later be selected the Cotton Bowl Defensive Player of the Game — broke through the OSU offensive line on the second play of the second quarter. He forced a fumble by Buckeyes quarterback Devin Brown — who was starting his first college game — inside the Ohio State 10-yard line.
Kienholz, a true freshman, entered the game and Brown eventually limped off to the locker room.
Missouri finished the first half with 112 yards of offense, 28 through the air. Ohio State managed just 76 yards of total offense as Mizzou racked up eight — yes, eight — first-half tackles for loss.
MU finished the game with 331 yards of offense to Ohio State’s 203.
The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.
