ARLINGTON, Texas — Despite taking an early lead,Ohio State couldn't get their offense going the rest of the night and the ninth-ranked Missouri Tigers rallied with two fourth quarter touchdowns to beat the No. 7 Buckeyes 14-3 in the Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday night.
The game was an offensive struggle for both teams, as both punted a total of 16 times. The Buckeyes (11-2) never reached the red zone the whole game.
Ohio State had a disappointing finish to the season after undefeated until their regular season finale loss to Michigan. The offense was without many of its key players, including two-time All-America receiver Marvin Harrison Jr, who opted out of the game on Friday. His future in Columbus remains uncertain as he decides whether or not to enter the NFL Draft.
The Buckeyes were also without starting quarterback Kyle McCord, who transferred to Syracuse earlier in the month. His back up, Devin Brown, made his first career start but left the game in the middle of the second quarter with a high left ankle sprain. The Ohio State offense sputtered all night, finishing with only 203 total yards.
True freshman Lincoln Kienholz was forced to go under center for the Buckeyes the rest of the game. He finished 6 of 17 for 86 yards and lost a fumble while being sacked with 3:13 left.
Despite all the missing pieces, Ohio State was able to take advantage of a short field and crack into the scoring column first with a 44-yard field goal from Jay Fielding to take an early 3-0 lead.
From that point on, neither team's offense threatened to score the rest of the first half.
The only scoring chance Missouri had came at the end of the half, when the Tigers lined up to let kicker Harrison Mevis attempt a 65-yard field goal. However, Missouri was flagged for a delay of game and had to settle for a Hail Mary attempt that went no where and the Buckeyes held a 3-0 lead at the break.
On Ohio State's opening possession of the second half, Keinholz hit Xavier Johnson for a 24-yard gain to put the Buckeyes at the Missouri 32. But the offense couldn't get any closer and had to settle for another field goal attempt from Fielding.
But Fielding's 48-yard kick hit the upright, ending the scoring chance.
The score remained the same until the fourth quarter when the Tigers' offense came to life.
Starting at their own 5, Missouri marched down the field in 8-plays to finally get in the end zone and take the lead. Quarterback Brady Cook delivered a strike to a wide-open Marquis Johnson for a 50-yard gain to put the Tigers at the Ohio State 15.
Two plays later, running back Cody Schrader put the Tigers ahead when he bulled his way through two defenders for a 7-yard score and put Missouri ahead for good.
Schrader, a former walk-on, finished the night with 29 carries for 128 yards and earned MVP honors. Before becoming a scholarship player, Schrader was making extra money by doing DoorDash deliveries.
“I couldn't have drawn it up any more perfect,” quarterback Brady Cook said. “He embodies what our team is, and what our values are and how we operate.”
The Tiger would add to their lead on their next possession with a 91-yard scoring drive that was capped off with a 7-yard touchdown pass by Cook to Luther Burden III with 5:12 left in the game.
Prior to those two scoring drives, Missouri had just 120 total yards.
Defensive end Jack Sawyer was one of the lone bright spots for the Buckeyes, matching an Ohio State bowl record with three sacks. Overall the Buckeyes sacked Cook six times on the night.
“I’m just upset about the game,” Sawyer said. “It’s tough when you don’t get the outcome you want, and I just want to give Lincoln a shoutout for stepping in there and playing with confidence in a tough spot.”
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