No. 9 Mizzou ‘still hungry’ headed into Cotton Bowl against No. 7 Ohio State
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
By any stretch of the imagination, a 10-2 season and trip to the Cotton Bowl would be classified as a success for year four under head coach Eli Drinkwitz. It's the best season he's had at the helm of the Tiger program to date, but the team is still very hungry for more.
The players said showing up at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas isn't enough. Beating a storied program like No. 7 Ohio State is the only result they're looking for.
"I definitely think it's a group of guys that aren't satisfied at all," wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. said. "We definitely know what's still out there to do and what history we can finish winning this game."
You can watch the full press conference with Wease Jr. in the video player below.
The Tigers have had a lot more time to prepare for the Buckeyes. The bowl game was announced on Dec. 3 and ever since Mizzou has been resetting, recuperating from the season and preparing to beat Ohio State.
There has been a little bit more down time sprinkled in, as well. Players said they didn't take too much time to reflect on the season, with the Cotton Bowl still lying ahead, but do recognize the heights they reached.
"We're just proud of, you know, No. 1 just how we stuck together and we accomplished the goals we set out," quarterback Brady Cook said. "We knew what we wanted to do and what we were capable of doing with each other and ultimately, you know, we accomplished a lot of those. I think watching back on the tape and thinking back on this year, you know, our team is really proud of ourselves."
You can watch the full press conference with Cook in the video player below.
Mizzou will leave for Texas on Saturday, Dec. 23, as the Cotton Bowl festivities will last all week leading up to Friday night's game at AT&T Stadium. 'Jerry's World,' as it's fondly nicknamed is quite a place to play, especially for your first time. Both Wease Jr. and defensive lineman Jayden Jernigan have played in that stadium many times before, as both grew up in Texas, fighting for state championships.
Jernigan does have a piece of advice for his teammates to avoid getting too distracted, once on the field.
"Just don't look at that big screen up top," he said. "If you don't look at the screen you're good, you're focused, but if you look up you gonna start looking like you're in the stands."
You can watch the full press conference with Jernigan, as well as defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine in the video players below.
No. 9 Mizzou and No. 7 Ohio State will kick off at 7 p.m. at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Dec. 29.
