CLIP Cody Schrader gets Mizzou on the board

No. 9 Missouri's surprising season ended with a 14-3 win over a declawed No. 7 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday, setting up the program for its first top 10 finish since 2013.

It was Missouri's first bowl win over an AP top-10 team since beating Navy in the 1961 Orange Bowl.

To say the game was a slog would be generous. Only one drive in the first half ended in something other than a punt, when Ohio State turned some strong field position into a 44-yard field goal. The two teams combined for 183 first-half yards total, averaging 2.8 per play.

Ohio State at least had an excuse. It entered the game shorthanded on offense, missing starting quarterback Kyle McCord and Heisman Trophy finalist Marvin Harrison Jr., then lost backup quarterback Devin Brown to an injury on a rough sack in the second quarter. Third-stringer Lincoln Kienholz, who had attempted five passes total this season entering bowl season, took over and ultimately finished 6-of-17 for 86 yards and a fumble.

It was almost jarring when Missouri broke the ice at the end of the third quarter. Quarterback Brady Cook hit a wide open Marquis Johnson on play action for 50 yards to go from deep in the Tigers' territory to the red zone. Before that, Missouri's longest play had been for 17 yards,

It was only the second time the Ohio State defense allowed a play of 40-plus yards all season and set up what wound up being the decisive score by running back Cody Schrader.

The Buckeyes responded with one of their best drives of the game, but a Kienholz fumble ended it at the Mizzou 35. The Tigers responded with a 13-play, 91-yard drive to put the game away.

Missouri ultimately outgained Ohio State 331-203. Schrader finished his All-SEC season with 128 rushing yards and a touchdown on 29 carries, while Cook earned offensive MVP honors with 11-of-18 passing for 128 yards plus 66 yards rushing. Johnny Walker Jr. won defensive MVP.

It was a satisfying end to a satisfying 11-2 season for Missouri, and a game that should basically have left Ohio State fans numb despite an 11-2 record. Their team loomed as one of the five best teams from the start to the final week of the regular season, but a loss to Michigan knocked them out of College Football Playoff contention and the aforementioned absences left them with nothing to do and, by their standards, nothing to play for.