Cotton Bowl opt-outs list 2023 ft. Kyle McCord, Omari Abor and more

The Ohio State Buckeyes will play the Missouri Tigers in the Cotton Bowl on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

The Buckeyes lost to the Michigan Wolverines in the final regular-season game for a third straight season, which ended their playoff hopes.

Missouri, meanwhile, had a successful season, going 10-2 with wins over Tennessee and Florida.

However, both programs have some key players skipping the Cotton Bowl.

Ohio State opt-outs for Cotton Bowl

The Ohio State Buckeyes have several players skipping the Cotton Bowl. One could be star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who has not decided yet, but all signs point to him not playing.

Here is the complete list of Buckeyes players opting out:

• Joe Royer, TE (transfer portal)
• Chip Trayanum, RB (transfer portal)
• Jyaire Brown, CB (transfer portal)
• Omari Abor, EDGE (transfer portal)
• Ryan Turner, CB (transfer portal)
• Parker Lewis, K (transfer portal)
• Reid Carrico, LB (transfer portal)
• Jakob James, OT (transfer portal)
• Kyle McCord, QB (transfer portal)
• Evan Pryor, RB (transfer portal)
• Kye Stokes, S (transfer portal)
• Julian Fleming, WR (transfer portal)
• Aramoni Rhone, WR (transfer portal)
• Victor Cutler Jr., iOL (transfer portal)
• Cameron Martinez, S (transfer portal)
• Connor Cmiel, WR (transfer portal)
• Will Harton, RB (transfer portal)

The biggest name on the list is Kyle McCord, who officially transferred to Syracuse after leading Ohio State to an 11-1 record this season.

McCord was not guaranteed the starting job next season, which forced him to enter the transfer portal. Devin Brown will be starting instead, and Ryan Day has confidence in the sophomore quarterback.

"Everybody in this game has got an opportunity to build some momentum for next year," Day said. "And Devin's exactly in that situation. This is exactly what he wanted."

"As of right now, I mean, he's our quarterback, and we're moving forward, and this is a great opportunity for him to go build more confidence with the guys around him as we head into next season."

Brown will likely be without two starting wide receivers, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Julian Fleming.

Missouri football opt-outs for Cotton Bowl

The Missouri Tigers had no players opting out of the Cotton Bowl except those listed in the transfer portal.

According to head coach Eli Drinkwitz, that shows the brotherhood this team has.

“Our brotherhood is wanting to play this one final game, this one opportunity together, and we're excited to do that,” Drinkwitz said.

“Our players earned this opportunity this year with the way they performed, and to have the national stage against a blue-blood opponent is a great opportunity for our program to continue to build to the brand that we want to be.”

Here is the complete list of Missouri players not playing in the Cotton Bowl:

• Demariyon Houston, WR (transfer portal)
• D.J. Wesolak, LB (transfer portal)
• Carmycah Glass, LB (transfer portal)
• Xavier Simmons, LB (transfer portal)
• Valen Erickson, OT (transfer portal)
• Max Whisner, TE (transfer portal)
• Dameon Wilson, LB (transfer portal)
• Dylan Laible, QB (transfer portal)
• Ma’Kyi Lee, OT (transfer portal)
• Gabarri Johnson, QB (transfer portal)
• Tyler Hibbler, S (transfer portal)

However, linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper and cornerback Ennis Rakestraw are not playing due to injuries.

Who is favored in the Cotton Bowl today?

The Ohio State Buckeyes are 4.5-point favorites to defeat the Missouri Tigers in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.

Ohio State is a -185 favorite on the money line, meaning the oddsmakers are giving the Buckeyes a 64.9% chance of winning the game.

How to watch the Cotton Bowl today?

The Cotton Bowl starts at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 29, with the game airing on ESPN.

The game takes place at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas.