The 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl between No. 9 Missouri and No. 7 Ohio State kicks off in five days and with most of the focus finally turned toward the game, let’s preview Missouri's offense versus Ohio State's defense.
We've already previewed the Buckeyes' offense versus the Tigers' defense, but this installation will truly be a preview of strength versus strength.
Ohio State's defense is littered with ballers. Six players made the all-conference team and there are NFL players at every level of the defense.
So far, star cornerback Denzel Burke, defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, defensive lineman Jack Sawyer and defensive back Jordan Hancock have all stated their intentions to play in the game.
If Burke declares for the upcoming draft, he's been projected to be a Day 2 pick with the chance of sneaking into the first round on Day 1.
The All-Big Ten first-team selection recorded 19 tackles, two tackles for loss, nine pass deflections, an interception and a forced fumble in 10 games.
His stats look pedestrian, but that's mostly because opposing quarterbacks usually shy away from him.
He allowed 23 receptions for 266 yards and a touchdown on 45 targets.
Williams led the team in tackles for loss with 10, to go with 49 tackles, three sacks, five bat downs and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown.
He was one of three Buckeyes to be an All-Big Ten third-team selection.
Sawyer was also a third-team selection and was second on the team in tackles for loss (seven) and sacks (3.5) and also racked up 44 tackles, a pair of pass deflections and two forced fumbles. If he declares for the draft, he's another potential Day 2 prospect.
Hancock played in 12 games and started five of them. He has the ability to play on the outside but is usually in the slot, meaning he will go up against superstar receiver Luther Burden III.
Hancock was targeted 41 times but only allowed 21 receptions for 228 yards and a touchdown. He had 38 tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack, two forced fumbles, five pass deflections and two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown).
With these pieces alone, Ohio State has a formidable defense. However, if EDGE J.T. Tuimoloau, linebacker Tommy Eichenberg and Michael Hall Jr. play, it'll be fully loaded.
Tuimoloau, an All-Big Ten first-team selection, paced the team in sacks with four to go with 34 tackles, six tackles for loss, two pass deflections and a fumble recovery.
He's another player who has to decide between playing in the game or not and whether he wants to declare for the draft. He's been mocked as a late Day 1 to early Day 2 pick.
Eichenberg is the third All-Big Ten first-team selection for the Buckeyes and the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year. He racked up a team-high 82 tackles to go with his 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
Hall Jr. had 21 tackles, two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He is the third All-Big Ten third-team selection and is also faced with the decision to declare for the draft or not considering he's been mocked as a Day 2 pick.
"They're one of the best defenses that we've played against all season, if not the best," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said during his National Signing Day presser. "They've held nine opponents to 12 points or less. I think they're top five in just about every major statistical category and top 10 In all statistical categories except for maybe red zone touchdowns because not many people have got into the red zone.
"They've got elite players at the line of scrimmage that got elite players at linebacker and in the secondary. So we're gonna have to really focus on what we do. We have to win the lines of scrimmage on both sides of the ball to even have an opportunity in this game."
Missouri is a full go offensively, with all 11 starters expected to start this game.
In the second half of the season, runnin back Cody Schrader was the Tigers' bell cow, with him finishing the last five games with 100 rushing yards or more in each contest. He had two 200-yard rushing games in two of the last three games versus Tennessee and Arkansas.
In the game versus the Vols, he ran all over a then-top 15-run defense.
In Week 10 versus Georgia, he became the first player to rush for 100 or more yards against the Bulldogs since Chris Rodriguez Jr. did it for Kentucky in 2020.
Schrader led the nation in yards per game with 124.9 and was third in total rushing yards with 1,497. He also had a team-high 13 touchdowns on his way to an eighth-place Heisman finish.
So, if Missouri has to lean heavily on the Burlsworth Trophy winner, he's proven he can move the chains in the run game against stingy defenses.
Burden went from a promising prospect in 2022 to a superstar this season.
After recording 45 receptions for 375 yards and a team-high nine total touchdowns in 2022, he recorded 87 receptions, 1,197 yards and eight touchdowns.
Drinkwitz said he believes the game will be won in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Luckily for Mizzou, it has a unit that was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award given to the nation's best offensive line unit. So, there are not many units better suited to face Ohio State in the trenches.
Quarterback Brady Cook is going to have to do what he's done all year and find a way to move the ball down the field while keeping the turnovers to a minimum. But that shouldn't be much of a problem, he broke the league record for most pass attempts without an interception in Week 5r and didn't throw an interception until Week 6.
This season, he passed for 3,189 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Also, for as great as Ohio State's defense is, it only forced 11 turnovers.
Expect the Tigers to lean on Schrader and the run game to open up the passing game versus a very rugged Buckeye pass defense.
PowerMizzou.com is a proud game day partner of Yuengling Traditional Lager, the taste of game-time. All of our coverage from Dallas and leading up to Mizzou's game against Ohio State is brought to you by @yuenglingbeer #LagerUp.
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