Ryan Day had his media availability on Saturday after arriving in Dallas for the Cotton Bowl matchup. The Buckeyes will take on the Missouri Tigers in the game after going 11-1 and narrowly missing out on the College Football Playoff.

The Tigers achieved double-digit wins in 2023 for the first time since 2014. The Tigers’ impressive season was not lost on Day, who praised his team’s upcoming opponent.

“Their record speaks for itself in terms of losing two games,” Day explained. “They’ve played complimentary football, run-pass on offense, put you in a lot of stress. On defense, same thing. They make you work it down the field, they have a strong front, a really good back end.”

The Tigers have had no problem putting up points this season. The team is putting up 34.1 points per game and is led by one of the best running backs in the nation in Cody Schrader.

“They play really complimentary football and certainly won a bunch of games this year at a high level,” said the coach. “Know how to win games, so it’s been great preparing for them and now we’ve got to continue to do that this week.”

The Buckeyes last won a Cotton Bowl in 2017 under Urban Meyer. The team will kick off against the Tigers on Dec. 29.