Mizzou football lands in Dallas for the start of Cotton Bowl week

DALLAS, Texas. (KMIZ)

The No. 9 Mizzou football team has officially made it to North Texas for the start of all the Cotton Bowl week festivities. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz and wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. met with the media right after coming off the plane from Columbia.

You can watch the duo's full press conference in the video player below.

Coach Drinkwitz said, in that press conference, that it's been an outstanding season, as the Tigers are 10-2 headed into the Cotton Bowl match up with No. 7 Ohio State.

"It's been a tremendous year for us from loving each other, playing for each other, competing against each other, our coaching staff and players all working together," he said. "We've had a whole heck of a lot of fun and we're gonna celebrate that this week, but we want to finish the right way with this bowl game."

MU is already off to a good start, as far as the actual game is concerned. Coach Eli said his team had no opt outs for the bowl, meaning everyone able to play will. There are, however, a few injuries, as linebackers Chad Bailey and Ty'Ron Hopper, as well as cornerback Ennis Rakestraw will not be able to play.

Mizzou will be playing on one of the biggest stages, AT&T Stadium, on Dec. 29. Wease Jr. has played there a time or two, about nine times, to be exact. The Texas-native has given has team a lot of advice, as far as playing in such an iconic venue. He said the biggest thing is remembering that they earned the right to be in the Cotton Bowl.

"Just keep the main thing, the main thing," he said. "Try not to look up at the big 200,000-inch screen and just focus on being 1-0. Definitely, be present in the moment and take it all in."

The Tigers and the Buckeyes will kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 29 at AT&T Stadium.

Don't miss our live coverage from Dallas, beginning on Dec. 25. You can watch our ABC 17 SportsZone Special 'Cotton Bowl Clash' the night before the game, on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 6:30 p.m. on KMIZ.