It was a hard watch. Especially on a replay.
Friday night’s Cotton Bowl was definitely not easy on the eyes, it was a game only Riley Williams’ parents could love.
If you didn’t know who Williams is before Friday night, you do now. The Missouri punter got as much air time on ESPN as Scott Van Pelt.
The first nine possessions ended in eight punts for Missouri. The one that didn’t mercifully came when the clock ran out in the first half that ended with Ohio State holding a 3-0 lead.
Missouri football fans now know how Iowa fans felt all season -- a little nauseous.
I missed a lot of the first half as I was still at Capital City High School watching the conclusion of the Jefferson Bank Holiday Hoops Classic title game between Fatima and Staley. And when I got back to the office, it was time to write a couple of tournament stories and then put the pages together for Saturday’s edition of the News Tribune.
We had the game on in the office, but it was more background noise than anything.
So even though I knew the ending and had a pretty good idea of what a trudge it was to watch live, I decided to watch as much of a replay of the game as I could when I got home Friday night.
That should tell you a lot about the current state of my life.
The game itself said something about the current state of college football.
Ohio State had its starting quarterback transfer after the Big Ten Conference Championship Game. So the Buckeyes had to play their second-stringer -- Devin Brown -- against the Tigers.
That’s modern day college football. At the end of the regular season, teams are going to have players take off for supposed greener pastures before any potential bowl games.
And when Brown got hurt early in the game, the Buckeyes had to go to their third-stringer. Injuries happen, next player up.
Marvin Harrison Jr., the best wide receiver in college football, opted out of playing in the game for the Buckeyes to avoid the potential for an injury as he most assuredly heads to the NFL Draft.
But Ohio State recruits at a top 10 level every season. Their backups are either four- or five-star players, you just haven’t heard of them yet.
So Missouri was still playing -- and beating -- a very talented team Friday night. That’s 99 percent of what should matter. The other 1 percent is trying to figure out how for the second time this season, Missouri was flagged for a delay of game penalty when it was trying to line up for a long field-goal attempt by Harrison Mevis. I’ve been on enough sidelines in my life to know that shouldn’t happen. I would imagine that is something that will be addressed, from the special teams coach down to the players.
But it was win No. 11 of the season, a win that should carry some momentum and confidence into next season.
The College Football Playoff expands from four to 12 teams next year and with a ranking of No. 9 this year, Missouri would have qualified this season. You don’t have to squint too much to see the Tigers earning one of the dozen slots for the opportunity to win a national title.
Glancing at next year’s schedule, there’s no reason Missouri couldn’t reach double-digit wins and earn one of those 12 spots. The Tigers have some holes to fill on the roster, but with a top 25 high school recruiting class and a top 10 group of transfers coming in, it shouldn’t be a rebuild, but a reload.
The talk of firing Eli Drinkwitz, the talk of sitting quarterback Brady Cook should be silenced. As hard as it is to believe from when the 2023 season started in August, it’s time for positive thoughts when it comes to the Missouri football program.