2023 Cotton Bowl Preview
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00:00 the sports illustrated media group.
00:01 We'll be right back.
00:02 [MUSIC]
00:03 >> Well, hey, everybody, and welcome to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the 88th Cotton
00:16 Bowl, just a couple hours away from kickoff.
00:19 We're thrilled to be here with you on Buckeyes Now, part of the Fan Nation Network in the
00:23 sports illustrated media group.
00:24 If this is the first time you've ever joined us, and we know there are always new viewers
00:28 and new listeners along the way, we certainly appreciate you jumping on.
00:31 I'm Brendan Gulick, along with Anthony Meglin.
00:33 If you are a regular, we certainly appreciate your continued support.
00:37 You can find us on our YouTube channel, where you can subscribe there, and certainly all
00:41 the news and info you need on the team, especially leading up to kickoff and tonight, immediately
00:45 after the game, available over on BuckeyesNow.com.
00:48 Anthony, this is a game that has a weird feel to it for some, because I think if we're being
00:55 honest about it, it's Missouri Super Bowl, right?
00:58 This is a huge platform for a Missouri team that's very, very good.
01:04 In some ways for Ohio State, despite it being the exact same game with the exact same stakes,
01:09 it has a little bit of a consolation prize feel to it.
01:12 One of the things I'm most looking forward to seeing early in this game is how all of
01:16 that noise leading up to this game impacts or doesn't impact this Ohio State team.
01:22 How locked in, how focused are they?
01:24 We know most of the starters are going to play that normally have played this year,
01:28 but I want to see early in this game just how locked in they are.
01:31 Yeah, no question.
01:32 For Missouri, I was just reading some articles earlier in the day today.
01:37 There was one that I read that all of their seniors were so bought in that they were all
01:40 going to try to play in this game, regardless of if they're going pro or if they're going
01:43 to be insurance agents next year.
01:45 They were all going to try and play in this game, because it means so much.
01:49 To your point, this is their Super Bowl.
01:51 I think on the flip side of things, for Ohio State, if I'm in that locker room, the message
01:55 is simple.
01:56 This isn't where we wanted to be.
01:57 We wanted to be in the college football playoff.
01:59 We wanted to be competing for a national championship.
02:01 But at the end of the day, you're putting on a jersey and you're putting on a helmet
02:04 that's going to say Ohio State on it.
02:06 There's a certain pride that comes along with that.
02:09 Regardless if this is the pinstripe bowl played in New York or if this is the cotton bowl
02:13 played in Dallas, Texas, we want to show out and put our best foot forward and show the
02:18 country that, hey, we're not where we want to be, but we're still a very good team and
02:22 a very good program.
02:23 That's what good programs do.
02:24 I think that, in my opinion, should be the message leading into this one.
02:29 I think it has been.
02:30 Again, I'm not trying to manufacture something about the Buckeyes.
02:34 The reality is they're here, and most of the guys that you think would have chosen otherwise
02:41 have decided, no, we're going to play.
02:45 It feels like a lot of that has already been decided.
02:48 When you put the pads on and you go out and play, it's not like you play any less hard
02:52 or any less focused.
02:54 I think there can be something to learn from whether or not things are really crisp or
02:59 if there's any sloppiness, some mistakes, and early turnover, things like that.
03:03 Obviously, one of the big storylines coming in here is going to be Ohio State's quarterback,
03:07 Devin Brown.
03:08 He's getting his first opportunity as a collegiate starting quarterback to play in an enormous
03:15 and gorgeous facility, some would argue the nicest facility for football anywhere in the
03:21 country.
03:22 He's going to do it in front of a fan base for Missouri that really, really wants to
03:27 win.
03:28 I'm sure the Tigers have traveled well and will be loud in here.
03:32 By the way, regardless of his opponent, he's got to make a good impression because Ohio
03:36 State, if they can go into the offseason feeling really good about Devin Brown being their
03:40 quarterback, it feels like that's a totally different tone than if he doesn't play well
03:44 today.
03:45 Yeah, absolutely.
03:46 This is such a great test for him.
03:47 It's been cool to learn more about him as we've led up to this.
03:52 You're seeing tweets and things and stories that he's such a great leader.
03:55 He's getting the team a bunch of stuff and doing this and doing that and just putting
03:58 his best foot forward to show this group that, "Hey, I can be this guy."
04:02 I'm really excited for him today because what we know about him this year, he's got some
04:06 mop-up time early in the year.
04:08 He had some opportunities during the middle of the Big Ten play.
04:10 You think back to the Purdue game where they put him in some goal line packages and it
04:14 maybe didn't go the way that they wanted to.
04:16 This is a chance to wipe the slate clean and show Buckeyes Nation and show his teammates
04:21 that, "Hey, I can do this and I can be the next guy for this football team."
04:27 Today he's got a good opportunity to do so.
04:29 I don't think that this Missouri defense is one that you're going to write home about.
04:33 I think that there's going to be opportunities to throw the ball down the field, to make
04:36 big plays, and then to start establishing himself as the next quarterback for Ohio State.
04:41 It starts, frankly, today.
04:44 It does.
04:47 I don't think he's going to have his top target on this team all season available.
04:52 Nobody has said anything publicly about Marvin Harrison Jr. playing or not playing.
04:58 I think if you read the tea leaves, he's probably not going to play today.
05:02 Marvin's been here with the team all week.
05:04 This has that Chris Olave feeling for me from a couple years ago in the Rose Bowl where
05:10 there was no way he wasn't going to be around his teammates.
05:14 Marvin was in Ohio State branded street clothes during practice, riding a bike, just being
05:20 around, wants to be here.
05:22 Ultimately, I think he's going to make the decision not to play.
05:27 I guess we'll find out for sure in a couple of hours.
05:30 Everybody else is pretty much expected to play in terms of those who might opt in or
05:34 opt out.
05:35 I don't necessarily expect, unfortunately, Tommy Eichenberg to play, learning that he
05:42 is pretty banged up.
05:44 I hope he plays.
05:46 I would personally be a little surprised if Tommy was in street clothes on the sideline.
05:51 He just seems like the kind of kid to me that even if he's not going to get in the game,
05:54 there's no way he's not going to stand on the sideline in full pads and a helmet and
05:58 at least have the feel like he's right there.
06:03 I would be a little surprised, kind of what I'm hearing, that I don't think Tommy's going
06:07 to play.
06:08 Beyond that, I sort of expect everybody else to be out there on both sides of the ball
06:10 and that's good news for the Bucs.
06:12 It's great news and it's funny.
06:14 I laugh when you talk about Tommy, but he's just one of those guys.
06:16 He's football through and through.
06:17 He'll have his helmet strapped up, ready to go.
06:20 This has the feel to it.
06:21 You think back to the Rose Bowl game a couple of years ago against Utah where it was the
06:25 Jackson Smith and Jigba coming out party.
06:28 That's the fun part for me is that when you watch Ohio State year over year, it's never
06:32 – it's always just a reload at every position.
06:36 You're going to lose guys, talking about this receiver room.
06:39 You'll lose Marvin Harrison, sure, but who's going to be next?
06:42 Who's going to be that guy that comes in next year and that we get really excited about?
06:47 There's going to be a bunch of great names that could throw their name in the hat.
06:52 I think that, like I said, this is a good opportunity to do so because I don't love
06:56 this Missouri defense.
06:58 That's what I'm really excited about.
07:00 Everything's going to sort itself out, but I'm excited to find out who's next for the
07:04 playmakers for Ohio State coming up into 2024.
07:08 And Missouri's defense, in addition to not necessarily put up gaudy numbers, they've
07:13 been good, but they're not elite.
07:16 And they're a little short-handed, missing a couple of key guys today, so I think that
07:18 will impact them as well.