Report: Missouri CB Ennis Rakestraw, LB Ty'Ron Hopper out for Cotton Bowl vs. Ohio State

NS_headshot_clearbackgroundby:Nick Schultz•12/23/23•

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Missouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw and linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper have been ruled out for the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported. Both players dealt with injuries during the regular season for Mizzou, and they’ll also miss the bowl game as a result.

Hopper was one of the most important players for the Tigers defense in 2023, ranking second on the team with 55 tackles while only playing in 10 games. He also added 3.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and three passes defended.

As for Rakestraw, he had 40 tackles and a tackle for loss in nine appearances in 2023. That came after a career year in 2022 in which he had 4.5 tackles for loss and 12 passes defended to help anchor the Missouri defense.

Missouri and Ohio State are gearing up to play in the Cotton Bowl Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. ET. The New Year’s Six matchup is sure to be an interesting one. The Tigers are coming off their first 10-win season since 2014 after Eli Drinkwitz orchestrated an impressive turnaround from back-to-back 6-7 seasons. As for the Buckeyes, they went 11-1 during the regular season, but a loss to Michigan in The Game kept them out of the College Football Playoff.

Still, Drinkwitz isn’t taking Ohio State lightly, he said after the bowl pairings were announced.

“It’s going to be a really tall challenge,” Drinkwitz said. “Very good football team. Coach [Ryan] Day does an excellent job. So, that’s going to be a great challenge. I know our team was excited. The quality of opponent you get is always a lot of fun. Obviously, they’ve got some really good players. So, that will bring our attention to focus pretty quickly.”

Part of the difficulty for Drinkwitz might be preparing for a new quarterback. Ohio State saw Kyle McCord enter the NCAA transfer portal after spending the entire 2023 season as the starter and is now at Syracuse. Now, Missouri is likely to go up against Devin Brown, someone who did not get a ton of reps due to injury.

A stout defense will be on the other end, ready for Missouri’s balanced attack. Cody Schrader has been one of the best running backs in the country all season, while Luther Burden has enjoyed an incredible sophomore season. Ohio State DC Jim Knowles has been able to shut nearly every offense down he has faced this season.

Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.