Missouri Football Week 12 Bowl Projections: Tigers Enter New Year’s Six Conversation

The Missouri Tigers improved to 8-2 (4-2 SEC) on the season with a convincing 36-7 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers last week— and are now inching closer to what could be just their fifth 10-win regular season in program history. Missouri can also accomplish this:

All Mizzou has to do is take care of business against the Florida and Arkansas.

On Saturday, Citrus Bowl representatives were in attendance for Mizzou’s win over Tennessee.

However, Mizzou has their sights set on something bigger as a New Year’s Six bowl bid is now a real possibility. And maybe the expectation?

Coming in at No. 9 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings as the highest-ranked two-loss team in the country, Missouri controls their own destiny for a New Year’s Six bowl bid.

The worst-case scenario for this team? Perhaps a New Year’s Day bowl game in Florida — which would either be the Citrus or ReliaQuest. Not bad at all.

While nobody in the pre-season expected Missouri to be in this position now, there’s still “Something to Prove” for this team. Losing to Florida or Arkansas would be quite the disappointment. Simply put, it’s NY6 or bust at this point.

Enjoy the ride. There’s a lot on the line in these final two weeks of the regular season. Let’s take a look at Mizzou’s latest bowl projections entering Week 12.

CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm: Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs Iowa (Jan. 1 in Orlando) 12:00 p.m. CST on ABC

($$) ESPN’s Mark Schlabach: Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs Texas (Dec. 29 in Arlington) 7:00 p.m. CST on ESPN

“Missouri didn’t stew over its 30-21 loss at Georgia on Nov. 4 and blasted Tennessee 36-7 at home Saturday night. With regular-season games remaining against Florida at home and Arkansas on the road, the Tigers appear headed toward a 10-2 record. Missouri had been outscored 128-48 in its previous two games against the Volunteers. Cody Schrader ran for 205 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 116 yards. The former Division II transfer and walk-on is impressive.”

($$) ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Tulane (Dec. 30 in Atlanta) 11:00 a.m. CST on ESPN (4)

Action Network’s Brett McMurphy: Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs Texas (Dec. 29 in Arlington) 7:00 p.m. CST on ESPN

($$) The Athletic: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs SMU (Dec. 30 in Atlanta) 11:00 a.m. CST on ESPN

FOX Sports: Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs Texas (Dec. 29 in Arlington) 7:00 p.m. CST on ESPN

247Sports: Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs Iowa (Jan. 1 in Orlando) 12:00 p.m. CST on ABC

“Could Missouri leap Ole Miss in the final playoff top 25 if both SEC teams finish 10-2? It’s possible. The Tigers’ losses would be to LSU and Georgia, while the Rebels’ pair would be similar — Georgia and Alabama on the road. Missouri was five spots behind Ole Miss in last week’s playoff rankings, that coming before a 29-point pasting of Tennessee. Keep an eye on where the Tigers are ranked Tuesday night and potentially, where they’ll be three weeks from now during the committee’s final voting.’

Saturday Down South: Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs Oregon (Dec. 29 in Arlington) 7:00 p.m. CST on ESPN

Sporting News: Capital One Orange Bowl vs Louisville (Dec. 30 in Miami) 3:00 p.m. CST on ESPN

Athlon Sports: Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs Iowa (Jan. 1 in Orlando) 12:00 p.m. CST on ABC

USA Today: Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs Iowa (Jan. 1 in Orlando) 12:00 p.m. CST on ABC

College Football News: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Washington (Dec. 30 in Atlanta) 11:00 a.m. CST on ESPN

College Football Network: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Louisville (Dec. 30 in Atlanta) 11:00 a.m. CST on ESPN

“The Missouri Tigers continue to defy (our) preseason expectations, and with their dominant win over Tennessee in Week 11, they’re positioning themselves nicely to pick up an “At-Large” bid to the NY6.”

Total count: Citrus (4), Cotton (4), Peach (4), Orange (1) — Note: Citrus Bowl projections were released prior to Tuesday’s CFP rankings.

The most likely NY6 bowl spot for Mizzou may be the Cotton or Peach depending on how the CFP rankings play out.

My prediction: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Tulane