ARLINGTON, Texas – Offense was in short supply in the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic until the No. 9 Missouri Tigers caught fire midway through the second half and walked away with a 14-3 victory over the No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes in front of a crowd of 70,114 at AT&T Stadium.
 
The Tigers (11-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) mounted two scoring drives of 90-plus yards in the second half to hold off the Buckeyes and secure the program's first win in a New Year's Six bowl game.
                                                                                               
Ohio State (11-2, 8-1 Big Ten Conference) led 3-0 deep into the third quarter and for a while it looked like sophomore placekicker Jayden Fielding's 44-yard field goal would be enough.
 
Despite being shut out for three quarters, Missouri finally found a spark when junior quarterback Brady Cook connected with freshman wide receiver Marquis Johnson for a 50-yard completion down the left sideline. The pass flipped the field on a drive that started at the Missouri five-yard line and put the Tigers at the Ohio State 15-yard line.
 
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Missouri senior running back Cody Schrader scored on a seven-yard burst up the middle, carrying two Buckeyes with him into the end zone. The icebreaking drive covered 95 yards in eight plays.
 
Missouri's second scoring drive was 91 yards and featured a bit of drama. The drive was again fueled by a deep pass, a 30-yard connection from Cook to senior wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. But the Tigers later faced a fourth-and-one at the Ohio State 23-yard line. Conventional wisdom would have been to kick a field goal to go up by a touchdown. Especially since Schrader had been stopped for no gain on third down.
 
Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz rolled the dice and went for it on fourth down with 6:38 remaining. Cook got the first down on a two-yard keeper to preserve the drive, then finished it with a 10-yard play action pass to sophomore wide receiver Luther Burden III for a touchdown. Cook was named the game's J. Curtis Sanford Offensive Most Valuable Player after completing 11 of 18 passes for 128 yards and rushing for another 66 on the ground.
 
The second touchdown drive drained 6:10 off the clock, leaving Ohio State only 5:12 to mount a comeback. The Buckeyes' attempt to rally ended when Missouri sophomore defensive back Daylan Carnell jarred the ball loose from Ohio State freshman quarterback Lincoln Kienholz and junior defensive end Joe Moore III recovered the loose ball for the Tigers.
 
In a game that featured lots of hard hits, Missouri junior defensive lineman Johnny Walker Jr. was named the Felix R. McKnight Defensive Most Valuable Player. Missouri totaled four sacks and 10 tackles for loss while Ohio State sacked Cook six times and tallied eight tackles for loss.
 
Kienholz was playing quarterback because redshirt freshman Devin Brown, making his first career start, left the game midway through the first half with an injury.
 
The Buckeyes' inexperience at quarterback contributed to a near-scoreless first half that saw both teams punt six times and manage just five first downs each. The teams totaled just 188 yards in the first half (112 for Missouri, 76 for Ohio State) and were a combined 1-of-16 on third down in a game that came down to a pivotal second half that favored the Tigers.

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