Ohio State vs. Missouri: odds, total, spread, bets to know for Cotton Bowl

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — With the first year of legal sports betting in Ohio drawing to a close, football fans have one last Buckeyes game to bet on to try to earn some winnings.

Ohio State is meeting Missouri on Friday night in the Cotton Bowl, the first meeting between the schools since 1998. While both teams’ records against the spread are similar (Ohio State 7-4-1, Missouri 8-4), each teams’ over/under records could not be more opposite (Ohio State 3-9, Missouri 8-4).

With multiple Buckeyes players transferring and player decisions on the horizon, the sportsbooks have this game almost as close as you can get. With both teams at full strength, many would say OSU would be a clear favorite.

Odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook. Betting odds are subject to change. For a full explanation of how to read betting odds, click here.

Latest odds

Moneyline: Ohio State (-115), Missouri (-105)

Spread: Ohio State (-1, [-110]), Missouri (+1, [-110])

Total: 49 points (Over & Under, -110)

Betting trends

• The only two previous meetings between the Buckeyes and Tigers with available betting data were in 1997 and 1998. Ohio State beat Missouri in Columbia 31-10 in 1997 as 13.5-point favorites and followed that with a 35-14 win at Ohio Stadium the following year as a 26-point favorite.

• As 1-point favorites, this is the closest spread Ohio State has had for a bowl game in the last 25 years. The next closest was the 2016 College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl where OSU was a 1.5-point favorite against Clemson. The Tigers won 31-0.

• More recent Buckeyes bowl games have been shootouts with the last four going over the set point total. With the total for Friday’s game at 49, it is the lowest for an OSU bowl game since the 2012 Gator Bowl vs. Florida. The total for that game was 44 and finished as a 24-17 win for the Gators.

How the Buckeyes can cover

As just one-point favorites, chances are pretty good if the Buckeyes just win the game they will win by at least two points. But Ohio State is facing questions.

The biggest is at quarterback with Devin Brown stepping in after Kyle McCord’s transfer from Ohio State to Syracuse. Brown, a sophomore, has a huge opportunity to gain an advantage in next season’s QB competition with a big performance. We still are unaware if he will have Marvin Harrison Jr. or TreVeyon Henderson to throw to.

If a majority of the Buckeyes stars say they will play, that should open the spread more in OSU’s favor as they look to end the season strong.

How Missouri can cover

The Tigers have a huge opportunity to give its program a big boost in an SEC that will bring in Texans and Oklahoma next season. Missouri has rarely faced opponents of this magnitude in bowl games and truly will want to take advantage of this rare chance.

The occasion could have the Tigers as ready for a game as they have ever been. Despite missing two key defensive players in cornerback Ennis Rakestraw and linebacker Ty’Ron Harper, the Tigers could take advantage defensively and give Brown a rough first career start.

Offensively, consensus All-America running back Cody Schrader is among the top backs the Buckeyes have faced all season. With OSU already missing some key defensive players with more potentially on the way, Schrader and Mizzou could get some key scores and pull off the upset.

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