Friday’s Cotton Bowl was not a bowl game that will go down as one for the ages, but Missouri saved the best moments for the fourth quarter.

For the first three quarters of the game, Ohio State’s early field goal stood up as the only points in the bowl. However, the Tigers turned things on down the stretch, producing a pair of touchdown drives that covered 90+ yards for the 14-3 win.

The offensive tape of the game is not one either coach will want to revisit. Here are the key takeaways as the Tigers cap an 11-2 season and Ryan Day deals with intense heat for OSU’s disastrous performance:

Cody Schrader delivers in farewell performance

Cody Schrader was undoubtedly a major cog in Missouri’s success this season. Friday’s win was no different with Schrader helping keep the offense alive in the first half before delivering in the second half.

It was a 7-yard run by Schrader — through contact — that went as Missouri’s first touchdown early in the fourth quarter. He would help set up the second score for the Tigers and then produce some strong runs to ice out the clock and the 14-3 win.

When it was all said and done, Schrader finished the Cotton Bowl with 128 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. A fitting end to the 2023 season for Schrader and his work with the Tigers.

Horrific start to the action

It’s hard to start a game much worse than these two teams did. Entering halftime, Ohio State clung to a 3-0 lead, and Missouri even botched a chance to get Harrison Mevis a shot at a potential record-setting kick with time winding down.

When halftime mercifully rolled around, the two teams had combined for 12 total punts and failed to reach 200 total yards of offense. Ohio State failed to produce a 3rd-down conversion in the first half of the game, and Mizzou star Luther Burden III had just 1 catch for 5 yards in the closing moments of the half.

Fortunately, the second half would provide a few more moments of action, but the Cotton Bowl underwhelmed for much of the evening.

Ohio State faces wild QB situation

In this era of transfer portal movement and NFL Draft opt-outs, roster turnover for bowl games is always a topic of discussion. For Ohio State, that included starting QB Kyle McCord opting for the transfer portal and heading to Syracuse during bowl prep.

Thrust into the spotlight was Devin Brown, the backup QB throughout the regular season who pushed McCord for the starting job during training camp. While the Buckeyes have been high on Brown, things went sideways early on with an injury to Brown’s left foot or ankle.

He tried to gut things out but was clearly in pain and hobbled by the ailment. Ohio State eventually pulled him midway through the second quarter, leading the team to roll with true freshman Lincoln Kienholz the rest of the way.

Kienholz did what he could, but without superstar receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr. (who was confirmed as out for the game ahead of kickoff), the young QB struggled while going 6-for-17 for 86 yards. It also muddies Ohio State’s QB outlook for 2024 with Ryan Day hoping to get a glimpse of what Brown could bring to the table in a key game.