ARLINGTON, Texas – The No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1, 8-2 Big Ten Conference) hit the practice field on Sunday for the first time since arriving in the Lone Star State in advance of the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

The Buckeyes logged 65 minutes on the AT&T Stadium field as part of the Christmas Eve morning practice. Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day confirmed that all of the Buckeyes' players arrived in Texas as scheduled on Saturday. The Sunday morning workout was the first of five practices the Buckeyes will hold at AT&T Stadium before playing in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

"It was really good to have the team back together again and working through a spirited, fast paced workout at AT&T Stadium," said Day. "We are looking forward to a great week of practices and the opportunity to finish our season on a high note against a very good Missouri football team."

The Buckeyes will enjoy an exclusive Christmas Eve "Sign and Dine" dinner where players will get footballs to be signed by their teammates. In addition to the team, coaches and Ohio State's official party, the event will also feature appearances by members of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and even Santa Claus.

While Coach Day wants his players to enjoy the various festivities during bowl week, he knows that the week will culminate with his squad facing a high-quality opponent who enters bowl season on a roll. Ohio State, the Big Ten's East Division runner-up, will take on the Missouri Tigers, the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division runner-up, on Friday night.

"Well, we're in the Co\on Bowl and it's a New Year's Six game so we'd expect nothing less," said Day. "We're preparing to play the best football in America. That's what we're going to do. So we know it's going to be a challenge. We'd expect nothing less coming to the Co\on Bowl."

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. 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 the 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.

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