Welcome to halftime of the Cotton Bowl and despite the low score, the Ohio State Buckeyes are in solid position with a 3-0 lead over the Missouri Tigers. It isn’t all doom and gloom despite what is being shared on social media. This Missouri team is extremely talented and Ohio State is dealing with injuries at the quarterback position.
It is a bit odd that Ryan Day is refusing to open up the playbook at all, but I want to reserve my anger until the second half. We have seen Devin Brown struggle and then get hurt and a true freshman in Lincoln Kienholz, who is clearly not ready, be not allowed to throw the ball, which is very odd given the constantly stacked boxes.
Again, it sounds like I am upset, but I am really not, I feel that the Buckeyes are in good position going into halftime and I am very excited to see what Ryan Day comes up with in the second half. Let’s dive into he top five most interesting topics from the first half.
The Buckeyes are flatter than expected
Im in 🇨🇷 Somebody step up and bring the juice. LET IT RIP BUCKEYES!!!! PURA VIDA
— Anthony Schlegel (@schlegelvellie) December 30, 2023
The Missouri Tigers clearly want to be in the Cotton Bowl and my expectations were that the Ohio State Buckeyes would too with all of the high-level NFL talent electing to play, but this squad looks like it wants to run home to Ohio.
Jayden Ballard should not be fielding punts
Jayden Ballard fielding punts instead of letting them go for touchbacks…
— Patrick Murphy (@_Pat_Murphy) December 30, 2023
The special teams is once again a joke and I would love to blame Parker Fleming, but at this point, it is Ryan Day’s fault for not letting him go yet. Jayden Ballard is fielding punts that need to be touchbacks. I think someone else should be given a shot at this point.
Jesse Mirco=MVP
Jesse Mirco, Cotton Bowl MVP
— Doug Lesmerises (@DougLesmerises) December 30, 2023
We just complained about the punt return unit, but let’s give a big shoutout to the other side with Jesse Mirco playing out of his mind today. Mirco’s punting has been one of the larger bright spots for Ohio State and has gotten them out of critical spots.
Is Will Howard the answer?
A lot of Will Howard smoke. https://t.co/bhSUXIF5Fw
— Dave Biddle (@davebiddle) December 30, 2023
Devin Brown has looked lost and Lincoln Kienholz has not been given any kind of chance, which leads me to believe he is no better. We have been hearing rumors of Ohio State reaching out to Will Howard and this game is likely going to make the Buckeyes even more desperate.
When will the defense break?
I had several parlays hanging in the balance if Ohio State wins this game on the ML. I had to cash all of them out in small profits. You can't expect the defense to pitch a shutout. At some point, they are going to get gassed.
— jbook™ (@jbook37) December 30, 2023
The Ohio State defense looks elite and it is extremely satisfying to see guys like Jack Sawyer play at such a high level, but this Missouri offense is no joke and we can’t expect this team to pitch a shutout against a top-notch SEC offense in 2023.
