NEWSLETTER
We get ourselves a top-10 matchup in college football for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic this holiday season. Who plays in the Cotton Bowl this year? Ohio State takes on Missouri and here are all the details you need to know about the game.
Want more bowl action? Take a look at the complete bowl schedule and upcoming games.
When is the Cotton Bowl in 2023?
The top-10 matchup between Ohio State and Missouri for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic takes place on Friday, December 29.
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Who Plays in the Cotton Bowl 2023?
This year’s Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic is a matchup between no. 7 Ohio State (11-1) from the Big Ten and no. 9 Missouri (10-2) from the SEC.
2023 Cotton Bowl Odds
It’s an even matchup in the Cotton Bowl. Take a look at the odds including moneyline, spread, and total for this game.
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2023 Cotton Bowl Matchup: Missouri vs Ohio State
We have a great matchup with two teams who fell just short of playing in their conference championship games this season. Let’s quickly recap Missouri and Ohio State’s seasons.
Missouri (10-2 overall, 6-2 in SEC)
The Tigers finished the season 10-2 with their only losses coming to Georgia and LSU. If Missouri had beaten Georgia, the Tigers would have reached the SEC Title game. Unfortunately, they lost 30-21 and will have to settle for the Cotton Bowl matchup with Ohio State.
Missouri started the season 5-0 and won their last three games to end the regular season. Brady Cook was solid throwing for over 3,100 yards along with 20 touchdowns. He loved throwing to Luther Burden who had 82 receptions for 1,190 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Cody Schrader also had a tremendous season as he had almost 1,500 yards rushing with 13 TDs.
Ohio State (11-1 overall, 8-1 in Big Ten)
For the second straight season, the Buckeyes season came down to a matchup with the Michigan Wolverines in the final week of the regular season. Once again, Ohio State lost to Michigan. And, this year, the loss knocked the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff.
Kyle McCord threw for over 3,100 yards with 24 touchdowns but has decided to transfer which leaves an inexperienced QB like Devin Brown to play in the bowl game. TreVeyon Henderson had 854 rushing yards with 11 TDs in the backfield but most of the attention is on the wide receivers.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is a top prospect for the NFL Draft and he had 1,211 yards with 14 TDs. He hasn’t been practicing for the Cotton Bowl so his status is uncertain. Also at WR, Emeka Egbuka has tons of talent but he played in only 9 games as he dealt with injuries. He had a huge season in 2022 (74 rec, 1151 yards, 10 TD).
History of the Cotton Bowl
The Cotton Bowl dates all the way back to 1937 and was played in the Cotton Bowl Stadium until 2009. In 2010, it switched to Cowboys Stadium which is now AT&T Stadium in Dallas. The game historically hosted the champion of the Southwest Conference and the team was usually paired up with the SEC runner-up. The Southwest Conference dissolved in 1996 and now it has been a game for the runner-up of the Big 12 and SEC.
The Cotton Bowl is part of the New Year’s Six bowls so occasionally top teams from other conferences reach the game based on what teams are in the College Football Playoff. The Cotton Bowl has been part of the College Football Playoff in 2015, 2018, and 2021.
Check out the long history of the Cotton Bowl.
| Date played | Winning team | Losing team | Attnd. | ||
| 1/1/1937 | No. 16 TCU | 16 | No. 20 Marquette | 6 | 17,000 |
| 1/1/1938 | Rice | 28 | Colorado | 14 | 37,000 |
| 1/2/1939 | Saint Mary’s (CA) | 20 | No. 11 Texas Tech | 13 | 40,000 |
| 1/1/1940 | Clemson | 6 | Boston College | 3 | 20,000 |
| 1/1/1941 | No. 6 Texas A&M | 13 | No. 12 Fordham | 12 | 45,500 |
| 1/1/1942 | No. 20 Alabama | 29 | No. 9 Texas A&M | 21 | 38,000 |
| 1/1/1943 | No. 11 Texas | 14 | Georgia Tech | 7 | 36,000 |
| 1/1/1944 | No. 14 Texas | 7 | Randolph Field | 7 | 15,000 |
| 1/1/1945 | Oklahoma A&M | 34 | TCU | 0 | 37,000 |
| 1/1/1946 | No. 10 Texas | 40 | Missouri | 27 | 45,000 |
| 1/1/1947 | No. 8 LSU | 0 | No. 16 Arkansas | 0 | 38,000 |
| 1/1/1948 | No. 10 SMU | 13 | No. 18 Penn State | 13 | 43,000 |
| 1/1/1949 | No. 10 SMU | 21 | No. 9 Oregon | 13 | 69,000 |
| 1/2/1950 | No. 5 Rice | 27 | No. 16 North Carolina | 13 | 75,347 |
| 1/1/1951 | No. 4 Tennessee | 20 | No. 3 Texas | 14 | 75,349 |
| 1/1/1952 | No. 15 Kentucky | 20 | No. 11 TCU | 7 | 75,347 |
| 1/1/1953 | No. 10 Texas | 16 | No. 8 Tennessee | 0 | 75,504 |
| 1/1/1954 | No. 6 Rice | 28 | No. 13 Alabama | 6 | 75,504 |
| 1/1/1955 | Georgia Tech | 14 | No. 10 Arkansas | 6 | 75,504 |
| 1/2/1956 | No. 10 Ole Miss | 14 | No. 6 TCU | 13 | 75,504 |
| 1/1/1957 | No. 14 TCU | 28 | No. 8 Syracuse | 27 | 68,000 |
| 1/1/1958 | No. 5 Navy | 20 | No. 8 Rice | 7 | 75,504 |
| 1/1/1959 | No. 10 TCU | 0 | No. 6 Air Force | 0 | 75,504 |
| 1/1/1960 | No. 1 Syracuse | 23 | No. 4 Texas | 14 | 75,504 |
| 1/2/1961 | No. 10 Duke | 7 | No. 7 Arkansas | 6 | 74,000 |
| 1/1/1962 | No. 3 Texas | 12 | No. 5 Ole Miss | 7 | 75,504 |
| 1/1/1963 | No. 7 LSU | 13 | No. 4 Texas | 0 | 75,504 |
| 1/1/1964 | No. 1 Texas | 28 | No. 2 Navy | 6 | 75,504 |
| 1/1/1965 | No. 2 Arkansas | 10 | No. 6 Nebraska | 7 | 75,504 |
| 1/1/1966 | LSU | 14 | No. 2 Arkansas | 7 | 76,200 |
| 12/31/1966 | No. 4 Georgia | 24 | No. 10 SMU | 9 | 75,400 |
| 1/1/1968 | Texas A&M | 20 | No. 8 Alabama | 16 | 75,504 |
| 1/1/1969 | No. 5 Texas | 36 | No. 8 Tennessee | 13 | 72,000 |
| 1/1/1970 | No. 1 Texas | 21 | No. 9 Notre Dame | 17 | 73,000 |
| 1/1/1971 | No. 6 Notre Dame | 24 | No. 1 Texas | 11 | 72,000 |
| 1/1/1972 | No. 10 Penn State | 30 | No. 12 Texas | 6 | 72,000 |
| 1/1/1973 | No. 7 Texas | 17 | No. 4 Alabama | 13 | 72,000 |
| 1/1/1974 | No. 12 Nebraska | 19 | No. 8 Texas | 3 | 67,500 |
| 1/1/1975 | No. 7 Penn State | 41 | No. 12 Baylor | 20 | 67,500 |
| 1/1/1976 | No. 18 Arkansas | 31 | No. 12 Georgia | 10 | 74,500 |
| 1/1/1977 | No. 6 Houston | 30 | No. 4 Maryland | 21 | 54,500 |
| 1/2/1978 | No. 5 Notre Dame | 38 | No. 1 Texas | 10 | 76,601 |
| 1/1/1979 | No. 10 Notre Dame | 35 | No. 9 Houston | 34 | 32,500 |
| 1/1/1980 | No. 8 Houston | 17 | No. 7 Nebraska | 14 | 72,032 |
| 1/1/1981 | No. 9 Alabama | 30 | No. 6 Baylor | 2 | 74,281 |
| 1/1/1982 | No. 6 Texas | 14 | No. 3 Alabama | 12 | 73,243 |
| 1/1/1983 | No. 4 SMU | 7 | No. 6 Pittsburgh | 3 | 60,359 |
| 1/2/1984 | No. 7 Georgia | 10 | No. 2 Texas | 9 | 67,891 |
| 1/1/1985 | No. 8 Boston College | 45 | Houston | 28 | 56,522 |
| 1/1/1986 | No. 11 Texas A&M | 36 | No. 16 Auburn | 16 | 73,137 |
| 1/1/1987 | No. 11 Ohio State | 28 | No. 8 Texas A&M | 12 | 74,188 |
| 1/1/1988 | No. 13 Texas A&M | 35 | No. 12 Notre Dame | 10 | 73,006 |
| 1/2/1989 | No. 9 UCLA | 17 | No. 8 Arkansas | 3 | 74,304 |
| 1/1/1990 | No. 8 Tennessee | 31 | No. 10 Arkansas | 27 | 74,358 |
| 1/1/1991 | No. 4 Miami (FL) | 46 | No. 3 Texas | 3 | 73,521 |
| 1/1/1992 | No. 5 Florida State | 10 | No. 9 Texas A&M | 2 | 73,728 |
| 1/1/1993 | No. 5 Notre Dame | 28 | No. 4 Texas A&M | 3 | 71,615 |
| 1/1/1994 | No. 4 Notre Dame | 24 | No. 7 Texas A&M | 21 | 69,855 |
| 1/2/1995 | No. 21 USC | 55 | Texas Tech | 14 | 70,218 |
| 1/1/1996 | No. 7 Colorado | 38 | No. 12 Oregon | 6 | 58,214 |
| 1/1/1997 | No. 5 BYU | 19 | No. 14 Kansas State | 15 | 71,928 |
| 1/1/1998 | No. 5 UCLA | 29 | No. 20 Texas A&M | 23 | 59,215 |
| 1/1/1999 | No. 20 Texas | 38 | No. 25 Mississippi State | 11 | 72,611 |
| 1/1/2000 | No. 24 Arkansas | 27 | No. 14 Texas | 6 | 72,723 |
| 1/1/2001 | No. 11 Kansas State | 35 | No. 21 Tennessee | 21 | 63,465 |
| 1/1/2002 | No. 10 Oklahoma | 10 | Arkansas | 3 | 72,955 |
| 1/1/2003 | No. 9 Texas | 35 | LSU | 20 | 70,817 |
| 1/2/2004 | No. 16 Ole Miss | 31 | No. 21 Oklahoma State | 28 | 73,928 |
| 1/1/2005 | No. 15 Tennessee | 38 | No. 22 Texas A&M | 7 | 75,704 |
| 1/2/2006 | No. 8 Alabama | 13 | No. 20 Texas Tech | 10 | 74,222 |
| 1/1/2007 | No. 10 Auburn | 17 | No. 22 Nebraska | 14 | 66,777 |
| 1/1/2008 | No. 7 Missouri | 38 | No. 25 Arkansas | 7 | 73,114 |
| 1/2/2009 | No. 20 Ole Miss | 47 | No. 8 Texas Tech | 34 | 88,175 |
| 1/2/2010 | Ole Miss | 21 | No. 21 Oklahoma State | 7 | 77,928 |
| 1/7/2011 | No. 11 LSU | 41 | No. 18 Texas A&M | 24 | 83,514 |
| 1/6/2012 | No. 7 Arkansas | 29 | No. 11 Kansas State | 16 | 80,956 |
| 1/4/2013 | No. 9 Texas A&M | 41 | No. 11 Oklahoma | 13 | 87,025 |
| 1/3/2014 | No. 9 Missouri | 41 | No. 13 Oklahoma State | 31 | 72,690 |
| 1/1/2015 | No. 7 Michigan State | 42 | No. 4 Baylor | 41 | 71,464 |
| 12/31/2015 | No. 2 Alabama | 38 | No. 3 Michigan State | 0 | 82,812 |
| 1/2/2017 | No. 8 Wisconsin | 24 | No. 12 Western Michigan | 16 | 59,615 |
| 12/29/2017 | No. 5 Ohio State | 24 | No. 8 USC | 7 | 67,510 |
| 12/29/2018 | No. 2 Clemson | 30 | No. 3 Notre Dame | 3 | 72,183 |
| 12/28/2019 | No. 13 Penn State | 53 | No. 15 Memphis | 39 | 54,828 |
| 12/30/2020 | No. 8 Oklahoma | 55 | No. 10 Florida | 20 | 17,323 |
| 12/31/2021 | No. 1 Alabama | 27 | No. 4 Cincinnati | 6 | 76,313 |
| 1/2/2023 | No. 14 Tulane | 46 | No. 8 USC | 45 | 55,329 |
