Missouri vs. Ohio State Cotton Bowl Classic Odds & Prediction

The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic will feature Missouri vs. Ohio State at 8:00 p.m. ET from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. With the Buckeyes listed as 4.5-point favorites and the total sitting at 49.5, what’s the best bet in tonight’s matchup?

263 Missouri Tigers (+4.5) vs. 264 Ohio State Buckeyes (-4.5); o/u 49.5

8:00 p.m. ET, Friday, December 29, 2023

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX

TV: ESPN/ESPN+

As of this writing, our CFB Public Betting page shows that 60% of bets are on Ohio State. That said, this page is updated frequently so make sure that you click on the link provided so that you’re getting the most updated information.

Brady Cook completed 12 of 20 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns during Friday’s 48-14 victory versus Arkansas. He also had six rushes for 14 yards with one touchdown.

Cook finishes a standout regular season for the Mizzou with 3,189 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, six picks and eight rushing scores. The 10-win Tigers should get a top-shelf bowl game.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day indicated Thursday that Devin Brown will be the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback for the Buckeyes’ matchup with Missouri in the Cotton Bowl Classic on Dec. 29, Dan Hope of ElevenWarriors.com reports.

Brown will step in for his first collegiate start after incumbent Kyle McCord elected to enter the transfer portal earlier this month. While making five appearances off the bench this season — typically near the end of blowouts — Brown has completed 12 of 22 pass attempts for 197 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to go with 35 yards and a score on 19 carries.

Missouri is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games

Missouri is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games

Ohio State is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games

The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Ohio State’s last 9 games

Take Missouri. I think this line is completely disrespectful to the Tigers. I realize Ohio State has a stout defense but the strength of this Mizzou squad is its offense. Brady Cook had as good of a season as any quarterback in the SEC and former walk-on Cody Schrader was one of the best stories in college football this season. First-year Tiger offensive coordinator Kirby Moore finally opened things up offensively and got this passing game throwing vertical. That wasn’t the case under previous play-callers, including head coach Eli Drinkwitz.

The bigger problem for Ohio State is on offense. I wasn’t the biggest Kyle McCord fan, but at least he had played – and won – some big games this season. The bigger loss, of course, is Marvin Harrison Jr. As of this writing, we still don’t know if Harrison will play tonight, but chances are he’ll opt-out in preparation for the NFL draft. He was their offense this season so if he doesn’t play, the Buckeyes will be hard-pressed to keep up with Mizzou. At the very least, the Buckeyes will win narrowly, giving the Tiger backers a cover.  

Missouri vs. Ohio State Prediction: MISSOURI TIGERS +4.5