3-2-1 KICKOFF

3 Players to Watch

Chuba Hubbard: With Justice Hill sitting out the bowl, Hubbard will be the Cowboys’ primary running back. He handled the role well against Oklahoma and West Virginia, rushing for more than 100 yards.

Deionte Noel: Like Hill, right guard Larry Williams, a sixth-year senior, won’t play in the bowl. Noel, also a senior, is likely to make his first career start. Jordan Brailford: Brailford, too, intends to enter the NFL Draft early, but he’s decided to stick around for the Liberty Bowl. It will be the All-Big 12 defensive lineman’s final game as a Cowboy.

2 Big Questions

Does Taylor Cornelius play the whole game? With Cornelius completing his OSU career, many eyes will turn to the Cowboys’ 2019 quarterback competition between Dru Brown and Spencer Sanders. It seems unlikely either will play against the Tigers, but the possibility is there.

What tricks get deployed? The last time OSU entered a bowl game with a 6-6 record, defensive tackle James Castleman scored a rushing touchdown and made an impressive catch and run in the Cactus Bowl. The Cowboys could get tricky again.

1 Wild Prediction

OSU’s defense snags two interceptions. If the Cowboys fail to pick off Mizzou quarterback Drew Lock, their five interceptions this season would match 1963 and 2005 for their fewest in program history. OSU managed multiple interceptions once this year, in a loss to Texas Tech. The Cowboys had only three among their other 11 games and none in their four games against opponents who were ranked at the time.