The defense played its magnum opus: Grading Missouri football in its Cotton Bowl win

For the first time since 2015, Missouri football has won a bowl game.

For the first time since the inception of the College Football Playoff, Missouri football has won a New Year's Six Bowl game.

It was a stellar game from the Tigers' defense. The offense needed three quarters to find life, but it eventually did. That led to a 14-3 Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State for Missouri.

Here are our grades from Missouri's play in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Missouri's Offense

It wasn't the best day at the office for Missouri's offense. By a very long shot.

The Tigers punted eight times in the first three quarters. They struggled to get the running game going and couldn't get the pass game going.

But, on a day when the defense was playing at such a high level, all Missouri needed to do was score the ball once or twice. MU did that in the fourth quarter.

A 49-yard deep shot to Marquis Johnson ignited the offense. Finally, movement.

That led to a 7-yard touchdown run by Cody Schrader. Finally, the lead.

The offense's job is to gain yards and put up points. But, against a defense as good as Ohio State's, that assignment simplifies to just gaining yards by any means possible. Missouri found a way to do that when it mattered most.

Grade: C

Missouri's Defense

If there ever was a time for Missouri to show that its defense is elite, it was Friday night.

The Tigers did that.

Defensive coordinator Blake Baker was aggressive early on with his blitzes, and it paid off as MU limited Ohio State to just three points in the first half. His usage of MU's defensive backs on his blitzes led to negative plays and sacks.

The Tigers' defense bent slightly to the likes TreVeyon Henderson, but it didn't come close to breaking.

The Buckeyes' offense had to adjust after quarterback Devin Brown went down with an injury, and primarily ran the football with true freshman Lincoln Kienholz in at quarterback. That continued into the second half, as OSU didn't attempt many passing plays.

Still, with the Tigers' offense struggling, the pressure was on the MU defense to keep it a one-score game and give the offense time to figure out how to move the ball.

The defense did in the biggest stage of the season. The defense even capped the win when Daylan Carnell's strip sack with 3:13 left all but sealed the win for Missouri.

Ole reliable came through. Ole reliable is the Missouri defense.

Grade: A

Missouri defensive backs

Against perhaps the toughest challenge of the season on the biggest stage, the Tigers' secondary played perhaps their most physical game.

Daylan Carnell was playing violent. He was hitting Buckeyes players so hard that their ancestors felt the blow. Most importantly, Carnell was hitting legally and showcased his discipline while having four quarterback hits.

Sidney Williams was effective in both coverage and run defense at the STAR position for Missouri.

Kris Abrams-Draine may have been inches away from multiple interceptions, but his coverage on Ohio State's receivers is why Missouri's defense was so stout.

Jaylon Carlies led the Tigers in tackles and had a sack.

Missouri's most talented position showed why it was so highly touted in the Cotton Bowl.

Grade: A

Missouri's wide receivers

The Tigers' receivers didn't have much to write home about in the first half. The offense struggled as a whole, and the receivers did little to lift Missouri out of that funk.

In the second half, however, the receivers were a reason why Missouri lifted itself to a Cotton Bowl win.

Marquis Johnson got it all started. His 49-yard reception near the end of the third quarter was the play that energized the offense and led to MU's first touchdown.

Theo Wease showed out in the fourth, too. He recorded a first down on a third-and-long situation while taking a big hit. He showed off his awareness later when Ohio State's offensive line jumped offsides. Wease took off and hauled a 31-yard pass on the free play.

Their blocking allowed Cody Schrader to jump over the 100-yard mark in the fourth quarter. That set up Luther Burden's touchdown catch.

Grade: B

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Grading Missouri football in its Cotton Bowl win