'Great Opportunity': Cotton Bowl vs. Ohio State a Launch Pad for Missouri?

Head coach Eli Drinkwitz sees Friday's game against the Ohio State Buckeyes as a prime opportunity for the Missouri Tigers program to gain national attention.

Friday's top-ten matchup against the Ohio State Buckeyes is more than a game to Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz.

During his press conference on Tuesday ahead of the 2023 Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Drinkwitz said the upcoming contest between the No. 7 Buckeyes and No. 9 Tigers is a prime chance for his program to gain national attention.

"I think it's a great opportunity for us," Drinkwitz said. "Our players earned this opportunity this year with the way they performed, and to have the national stage against a blue-blood opponent is a great opportunity for our program to continue to build to the brand that we want to be, and the brand that we want to become."

Missouri enters the end-of-week bout with Ohio State sitting at 10-2 overall, which is the first time the Tigers have had a winning record since 2018 (8-5), and ten or more wins in a single season since 2014 (11-3). 

Among this year's victories are triumphs against the then-No. 15 Kansas State Wildcats (30-27), then-No. 24 Kentucky Wildcats (38-21), and then-No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers (36-7).

The 2023 campaign also marks the first winning season with Missouri for Drinkwitz, who took over for Barry Odom in December of 2019. The 2023 SEC Coach of the Year, Drinkwitz is 27-21 all-time as the head coach of the Tigers.

One of the reasons 2023 has been such a great year for Missouri is quarterback Brady Cook, who has thrown for 3,189 yards and 20 touchdowns over this season's 12 games.

Friday against Ohio State will be Cook and Drinkwitz's third bowl game together. 

The duo is still looking for their first post-season victory after losing both the 2021 Armed Forces Bowl against the Army Black Knights (where he won co-Most Valuable Player alongside Black Knights linebacker Arik Smith) and the 2022 Gasparilla Bowl against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.