In less than twenty-four hours, the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the top-ranked Missouri Tigers will square battle in the 2023 Goodyear Cotton Bowl from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Which athletes from the Buckeyes and Tigers will take the field has garnered the most attention in the lead-up to the game. However, Friday’s game will be historic due to an often-overlooked factor.
As is their right as the so-called “home” team in the neutral match, Ohio State will don their scarlet uniforms. Conversely, Missouri will serve as the “away” team and will don their all-black jersey and pants ensemble instead of their customary white jerseys.
Instead of one side wearing white for the Cotton Bowl match, both teams will wear one of their two major colors thanks to these uniform decisions. Unfortunately for Buckeyes supporters, their team rarely has success with this color combination.
According to Andrew Lind, the last time such a clothing matchup occurred in Ohio State history was the Rose Bowl game versus the UCLA Bruins in 1976. The then-Pac-8 conference’s Bruins shocked everyone by defeating the unranked Buckeyes 23–10.
The only other “color vs. color” Ohio State participated in was at a previous Rose Bowl showcase. The Buckeyes were defeated by the Cal Bears in that 1921 game, but the color combination was not unusual at the time.
On Friday, December 29, at 8 p.m. eastern, the Ohio State Buckeyes and Missouri Tigers will kick off. ESPN will broadcast the game in real time.
