GRAPEVINE – With the holiday season in full bloom at the Gaylord Texan Resort, the No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes touched down in North Texas on Saturday in advance of its appearance in the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

The Buckeyes arrived at its hotel home for the week just before 5 p.m. local time on Saturday after making the trek from Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State is making its third appearance at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and will be taking on the No. 9 Missouri Tigers at AT&T Stadium.

The 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic is Friday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN and ESPN Radio. Kickoff is slated for 7:10 p.m.

"Excited to be here," said Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day. "Just got in here with the team. Landed down probably about 45 minutes ago.Excited to be here. Excited to be back at the Cotton Bowl. It is a wonderful bowl and the hospitality here is top-notch. And I know our guys are excited about it. Certainly have a great opponent in Missouri. Excited to have a great week of practice and get to work."

Graduate wide receiver Xavier Johnson says that the Buckeyes securing a New Year's Six bowl berth in the Lone Star State has also stirred some friendly debate among his teammates about the best brand of prep football in the country.

"There's an ongoing debate over which state is the best state on the team for football -- high school football," said Johnson. "So the Texas guy feels -- Texas guys feel very strongly about Texas. I'm from Ohio, so I feel strongly about Ohio football."

When it comes to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Johnson says he and the Buckeyes are aligned in their view of their December 29th primetime matchup with the Missouri Tigers as more than just a game. The Classic offers a chance to finish the season with a quality performance and potentially add a new chapter in the history of one of college football's most celebrated bowl games.

"So I think just having an opportunity, like I said, to go out on a big stage in an environment as incredible as the Cowboys Stadium (AT&T Stadium), I think our team is going to cherish that opportunity. And I think the way you cherish an opportunity like that is to go out and give it your best and respect the game and the opponent and the people who are putting on the bowl by playing our highest-level football."

This year's Classic is a part of the ESPN bowl lineup for the 10th straight year. Dave Pasch and Dusty Dvoracek are set to call the action from the booth with Tom Luginbill reporting from the sidelines.

ESPN Radio returns as the Classic's national radio partner for the tenth consecutive year with Brad Sham and Kirk Morrison in the booth and Taylor McGregor on the sidelines to describe all the action from AT&T Stadium.

Follow the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and TikTok.