How close is Mizzou football to New Year's Six Bowl berth? Projections for the 8-2 Tigers
Saturday’s results made the picture clear.
Mizzou football likely controls its own path to a New Year’s Six Bowl after hammering Tennessee 36-7 on Saturday in Columbia. Meanwhile, in Athens, Georgia, the SEC East-champion Bulldogs dished out a similar demolition job against Ole Miss.
And, after playoff contenders Georgia and Alabama, that should be the race to decide a potential third and final Southeast Conference team into the selection committee’s bowls — Tigers (8-2, 4-2 SEC) versus Rebels (8-2, 5-2).
When the College Football Playoff committee releases its third set of rankings Tuesday evening, that picture should become clearer. Neither MU, previously No. 14, nor Mississippi, previously No. 9, will be expected to be idle after their respective weekends.
On Monday, CBS, ESPN and Action Network released their bowl projections with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Most of them have the ball in MU’s court.
Action Network
Brett McMurphy of Action Network projected a future all-SEC matchup to come early in the Cotton Bowl.
He predicted Missouri against Texas, in what would be the Longhorns’ last game as a Big 12 outfit, on Dec. 29 in Arlington, Texas.
The Tigers’ last trip to the Cotton Bowl also marked the last time they won 10 regular-season games. If MU manages to beat Florida on Saturday at home and Arkansas next Friday in Fayetteville, Arkansas, it would match that mark for the first time since that season.
Mizzou defeated Oklahoma State 41-31 on its last trip to AT&T Stadium. The Tigers have faced Texas in the postseason since then, losing 33-16 in the 2017 Texas Bowl in Houston.
ESPN
Mark Schlabach of ESPN followed the same path as McMurphy in his bowl projections — MU locking horns in Texas.
His ESPN colleague, Kyle Bonagura, is sending the Tigers to Atlanta for a bout with Tulane in the Peach Bowl.
That, of course, could be thrown into question should unbeaten James Madison’s recently submitted waiver request for postseason eligibility come up positive. The Dukes would likely have the best record among Group of Five teams and grab the guaranteed spot for those conferences in the NY6.
This season’s Peach Bowl takes place Dec. 30 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Should the Tigers be selected for a berth, it would mark MU’s first appearance in the bowl’s history. It’s been nearly a century since the Tigers faced the Green Wave. Both previous meetings — in 1925 and 1926 — ended in ties.
CBS
Jerry Palm of CBS isn’t sold yet.
In his updated bowl projections, Palm still has coach Lane Kiffin’s Rebels nabbing a spot in the Peach Bowl for a game against Penn State.
Palm projects that Mizzou, meanwhile, will face Iowa on New Year’s Day in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, which — barring a pair of losses to close the regular season — appears to be the floor for Eli Drinkwitz’s team.
The Tigers were scheduled to face the Hawkeyes at the Music City Bowl in 2020, but that was canceled due to COVID-19 cases in the Missouri program.
Missouri last faced Iowa in the Insight Bowl in 2010, when then-coach Gary Pinkel’s team lost 27-24.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How close is Mizzou to New Year's Six Bowl berth? Projections for the 8-2 Tigers
