COLUMBIA, Mo. — It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Meetings feel optional, emails are next year’s problem and the holiday slowdown is settling in.
That’s not quite the dynamic inside Memorial Stadium’s South End Zone, where a Cotton Bowl-tinged Toughness Tuesday allows for no such reprieve. After a bit of a reprieve for recovery and final exams, No. 9 Missouri football is back and preparing for its Friday, Dec. 29, clash with No. 7 Ohio State.
“It’s getting ramped up now,†cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine said. “We’re doing more back-to-back practices and stuff.â€
Mizzou (10-2) and Ohio State (11-1) will travel to the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Saturday, giving the teams a little less than a week to prepare on-site for the final game of the season. The Tigers are expected to arrive at their hotel around noon Saturday.
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From there, they’ll have daily practices ranging from 90 minutes to two hours long inside AT&T Stadium, where the bowl will be played. MU is also scheduled to make a visit to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, a pediatric hospital in Dallas, during the run-up to the game.
In the meantime, there’s a game to prepare for. Even after a bit of time off, there’s something of a routine to the Tigers’ activities, even if the stage is bigger.
“It’s really been the same, we just have a little bit more free time,†wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. said. “But I definitely got a chance to watch a little bit more film, so that’s good for sure.â€
The film-watching process has been an ongoing one and is important, given that the Big Ten Buckeyes are an unfamiliar opponent for Missouri — and there’s some potential fluctuation in who will actually don the well-known silver helmets.
“Since the bowl game was announced, I was able to start watching tape and just (get a) 1,000-foot view of what they do and who they are and what we can expect,†quarterback Brady Cook said. “As we get closer, you start to match that with the game plan that’s in place now, so that’s the process we started the last three days.â€
After Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord transferred to Syracuse, the Buckeyes looked like they might be scrambling a bit. Sophomore Devin Brown is in line to start in the Cotton Bowl.
Brown and McCord were competing against each other for the starting job during the preseason, but once the latter won out, Brown didn’t see much action. He hasn’t thrown a pass in a game in more than two months, which creates some unpredictability around OSU’s offense.
“It’s challenging,†defensive tackle Jay Jernigan said. “The quarterback that we’re going against, he has about 50 snaps on film, so it’s not a lot of stuff that you’re really about to key on with mannerisms and being able to tell (what’s coming).â€
More Ohio State players than perhaps expected have said they’re playing in the Cotton Bowl, suggesting that the Buckeyes will have nearly a full contingent available for the game. But the status of wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., a Heisman Trophy finalist, remains unclear — he has yet to announce whether he’s playing in the bowl.
But by not publicly opting out by this point, Missouri is proceeding as if Harrison will play in a final chance to add to his college football highlight reel.
That, in turn, creates an opportunity for the Tigers.
“It can really show how I match up against one of the best receiver groups in the nation, so I’m looking forward to that,†Abrams-Draine said.
With the cornerback, who will play in the February Senior Bowl in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama, set to enter the NFL draft in the spring, does that make the Cotton Bowl feel like a final showcase for scouts and future tape-watchers?
“Yeah, I can say that,†Abrams-Draine said. “I feel like it’s more about just playing one more game at Mizzou and for my teammates, for real.â€
MU’s coaches, meanwhile, are plenty busy as the postseason and offseason bring together bowl prep, regular coaching duties, transfer portal dealings and a vital stretch of high school recruiting with national signing day coming Wednesday.
“I think I’m busy. I know they’re busier,†Cook said. “They’re doing a great job: I haven’t noticed their absences too much, so that goes to show they’re making sure they still put enough time in for this game and for the players we have now. But we’re seeing commitments pop up left and right, so they’re doing a good job on that end too.â€
And for all the bits of Cotton Bowl studying and training that might feel familiar, there are elements that are clearly different from Mizzou’s not-too-distant past. A year ago, the Tigers were a few days out from a quiet Gasparilla Bowl loss to Wake Forest. This year, they’ll instead travel on the anniversary of that game, and their time spent studying and watching film was punctuated by announcements of awards, All-American honors and the buzz of various commitments and transfers.
“I’d say the vibe around the program and the vibe in CoMo is a lot better, compared to a year ago today,†Cook said. “It’s been a great month, especially for our team. Obviously, we’re very grateful for all the awards that have come our way. It’s just a testament to what we did this year.â€
