Cotton Bowl Notebook: ‘We’re not really focused on the opponent’

Oh So Close

Missouri will enter the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State with a record of 10-2. Those losses have come to No. 6 Georgia and No. 13 LSU, and both could have gone a different way with a couple of bounces.

The Tigers had the ball in the fourth quarter down by one score in each game, ultimately losing 49-39 at home to LSU and 30-21 at Georgia.

Missouri was up to the challenge in both games, just as they have been all season long. They have an explosive offense and a disruptive defense, and none of this has been lost on Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.

“Well, their record speaks for itself,” Day said. “They’ve played well. Complementary football, run, pass on offense, put you in a lot of stress.
On defense, again, same thing. They make you work it down the field. They have a strong front, a really good backend. So play really good complementary football and, certainly, have won a bunch of games this year at a high level and know how to win games. So it’s been great preparing for them, and now we’ve got to continue to do that this week.”

Are You In Or Out?

The Buckeyes haven’t had anybody announce any opt-ins or opt-outs in nearly two weeks. Everybody arrived in Dallas on Saturday ahead of Friday’s Cotton Bowl, but that doesn’t mean everybody is playing.

Junior receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. is not expected to play in the game, though he has not yet made an announcement. Junior defensive end JT Tuimoloau hasn’t made his decision known yet either, nor has junior running back TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson was photographed at practice, however, by OSU’s social media team.

And don’t expect Ryan Day to be the one to break the news unless he gets the okay from each of his players in question.

“It’s hard for me to kind of say because everyone — that’s kind of their own deal,” Day said. “And we’ll kind of let them communicate that as time goes on. But excited about the team that we can potentially have back here. So I know that there’s some guys that are going through it and making sure they’re making the right decision for them but also for the team. And so each guy who has to make that decision. Some guys know they’re going. The guys that have to make a decision, they are being really thorough, asking the right questions, and doing it the right way.”

To Thine Own Self Be True

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz has been asked a couple of times now how his team is preparing for Ohio State’s possible opt-outs, and neither time has it been much focus of their concentration.

When the Cotton Bowl matchup was first announced, Drinkwitz said that whoever lines up for Ohio State will be a talented player worthy of concern.

“Yeah, that hasn’t been any part of our conversation or concern,” Drinkwitz reiterated again on Wednesday. “We are focused about our team and our opportunity here.”

So far the Buckeyes haven’t had any major opt-outs, save for the transfer of their starting quarterback Kyle McCord. Injuries will keep at least one starter out for the game for Ohio State, however, as Ryan Day announced on Wednesday that starting safety Lathan Ransom still hasn’t recovered enough from an injury he suffered earlier in the season to be ready for this game.

Injuries will also keep three starters out of Missouri’s lineup.

“We are going to have a couple of players that couldn’t quite get back from an injury standpoint,” Drinkwitz said. “[Cornerback] Ennis Rakestraw, [middle linebacker] Chad Bailey, and [Will linebacker] Ty’Ron Hopper will not participate in the game this week.”

Bailey has missed much of the season, while Hopper has missed the last two games. Hopper has been the team’s leading tackler for most of the season. Rakestraw has missed three games this season, including the regular-season finale at Arkansas. Overall, the team has been able to operate without three of their top defenders, and Drinkwitz doesn’t expect any different on Friday.

“We didn’t have any opt-outs. Our brotherhood is wanting to play this one final game, this one opportunity together, and we’re excited to do that,” he said. “But, again, we’re not really focused on the opponent. We’re focused on our team and what our mission and goal is this year.”

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