ARLINGTON, Texas – The No. 9 Missouri Tigers (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) moved a step closer to its matchup in the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic during their Tuesday practice at AT&T Stadium.

The Tigers will face the No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten Conference) Friday, December 29th at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

Missouri held its usual "Winning Wednesday" theme of practice, with gameday now only three days away.

"I thought we had good energy," said Tigers' head coach Eliah Drinkwitz. "I was actually pretty pleased with the execution and physicality. We're getting a little bit closer to the game, and the guys are getting more and more focused on what we have to do."

In a contest matching Top-10 teams, strength-versus-strength matchups are common as the Missouri offense preps for the tough Ohio State defense. The Buckeyes lead the nation in passing defense yielding 147.4 yards per game, rank second in scoring defense allowing 11.0 points per game, and third in total defense allowing 259.9 yards per game while also ranking in the Top 25 in third-down conversion defense, red zone defense, and rushing defense.

"They're very sound in what they do, and they've got elite players," Drinkwitz said. "They've got elite players at every level of their defense, and they're really good at what they do. They don't have a lot of weaknesses, and they don't blow coverages. They stop the run, force you into long down and distance situations, and let their guys rush the passer."

Conversely, the Tigers have the nation's best red-zone offense, having scored on all but one of their 55 possessions inside the 20-yard line this season (34 touchdowns, 20 field goals). Missouri also ranks in the Top 30 nationally in scoring offense, total offense, and passing offense.

"It starts with our kicker (Harrison Mevis) being really good down on the red zone," Drinkwitz said. "Obviously, we've got to continue to execute as we have throughout the season, but they're pretty good on defense. So, it'd be strength on strength if we get the ball down there."

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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