Here are 4 things we learned from the Ohio State Buckeyes' Cotton Bowl loss to Missouri
ARLINGTON, Texas — Here are four things we learned from Ohio State’s 14-3 loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl:
Key absences were felt
The Buckeyes were without quarterback Kyle McCord and superstar wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
McCord had transferred to Syracuse two weeks ago, while Harrison sat out the New Year’s Six bowl game.
It was evident how much they were missed.
Ohio State, which had scored at least 20 points in all but one game during the regular season, mustered only a 44-yard field goal by Jayden Fielding.
The three points were the fewest by the Buckeyes in any game since they were shut out by Clemson in a loss in a College Football Playoff semifinal in 2016. In every previous game in the Ryan Day era, they had produced multiple touchdowns.
The haplessness from Friday night was a reminder of how much Harrison, the Heisman Trophy finalist, had propped up the offensive foundation throughout the fall.
Without him, would the Buckeyes have suffered at least another loss or two during the regular season?
Even McCord’s steadiness in the pocket would have been a boost for Ohio State.
No answers were found at quarterback
The bowl game was a chance for Devin Brown, the redshirt freshman who had pushed McCord for the starting job into September, to stake his claim on the spot entering next year.
But when Brown was sacked by Missouri safety Jaylon Carlies late in the first quarter, it resulted in a high ankle sprain that led him to be replaced by true freshman Lincoln Kienholz.
The audition proved brief, as Brown attempted only six passes, completing four of them for 20 yards. The short starting debut left Ohio State to head into the offseason without gaining any more clarity at its high-profile position, missing an opportunity to get a proper evaluation.
Day could still to stick with Brown after he gave him a tepid endorsement a day before kickoff.
“As of right now,” Day said Thursday, “he's our quarterback moving forward.”
But Day has not ruled out looking to the transfer portal to add another passer who could be in the mix to supplant him.
“Everything will be looked at,” Day said following the defeat.
Kansas State’s Will Howard and Washington State’s Cam Ward are two big names remaining on the transfer market.
More: Oller: Ohio State has a quarterback problem; do Buckeyes have one who can win titles?
No matter what follows, there is as much uncertainty as there has been behind center since Day took over for Urban Meyer five years ago.
Can Day reestablish his reputation as a quarterback whisperer in 2024?
Defense held up its end of the bargain
Missouri had one of the higher scoring offenses in the Football Bowl Subdivision this fall.
It put up at least 30 points in all but two games during the regular season and averaged 35.9 points per game against its Southeastern Conference opponents.
Through three quarters, Ohio State had kept the Tigers off the scoreboard and was surrendering only 4.3 yards per play as it swarmed the backfield. It would finish with six sacks, the most in a game since Jim Knowles stepped in as the defensive coordinator last year.
The Buckeyes were worn down in the fourth quarter, allowing consecutive touchdown drives that spanned more than 90 yards as Cody Schrader, Missouri’s All-American running back, only picked up steam.
But it was a strong enough performance from Knowles’ side of the ball to put Ohio State in a position to prevail.
Contrast it to last December’s postseason loss to Georgia when they surrendered multiple big plays that added up to the Bulldogs’ 42 points.
Issues on special teams persist
The punt return unit did Kienholz no favors.
He was backed up against his own end zone on two out of his first three drives after replacing Brown in the second quarter.
The first was after Jayden Ballard called for a fair catch at the Buckeyes’ 5-yard line instead of letting the ball bounce into the end zone, a scenario that would have resulted in a touchback and allowed them to instead begin possession at their 20-yard line.
The other instance came when Calvin Simpson-Hunt was flagged for a block in the back, inexplicably shoving Tre'Vez Johnson into Ballard. The penalty pushed Ohio State back toward its 7-yard line.
The special teams gaffes left Kienholz, a freshman taking his first meaningful snaps, in difficult situations to manage due to the poor field position.
It was not until the third quarter until Kienholz completed a pass as it took longer for him to settle in.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch and can be reached at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State vs. Missouri: 4 things we learned in Buckeyes loss
