Missouri鈥檚 Jamal Roberts overcomes a tackle attempt by Auburn鈥檚 Kaleb Harris to score the game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard run with 46 seconds remaining on Saturday Oct. 19, 2024, in Columbia, Mo.
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Missouri will soon find out its bowl game assignment, with details regarding the Tigers鈥 final game of the 2024 season set for a Sunday afternoon announcement. And while the 鈥渨here鈥 of that matchup is half of the intrigue, it鈥檚 the 鈥渨ho鈥 Mizzou will play that might be the most important.
MU, which finished the regular season 9-3 overall and 5-3 against Southeastern Conference opponents, will almost certainly participate in one of the 鈥淧ool of Six鈥 bowl games. The Tigers are out of the College Football Playoff race and unlikely to have the requisite stature for the SEC鈥檚 spot in the Citrus Bowl, which will go to the conference鈥檚 best non-playoff team.
That means Mizzou will learn its bowl destination Sunday afternoon after the 12-team playoff field has been set. Once those teams are unveiled by the CFP鈥檚 selection committee, the Citrus Bowl will grab its SEC representative, and then the behind-the-scenes scheming begins.
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Conferences and TV networks do most of the programming, trying to create matchups that will draw eyeballs and ticket sales 鈥 in Missouri鈥檚 case, that means the SEC and ESPN. Bowl-eligible schools and the bowl games themselves have rather limited say in where they go or what teams they get, respectively.
The programming process is expected to wrap up around mid-afternoon Sunday and lacks a specific time. The announcement is likely to come around the end of Missouri men鈥檚 basketball鈥檚 Border War showdown with Kansas, which tips off at noon that day inside Mizzou Arena.
Given the Tigers鈥 stature in both the SEC and national rankings, they have six bowl game options:
- Liberty Bowl: 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 27 in Memphis, Tennessee, vs. Big 12.
- Las Vegas Bowl: 9:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 27 in Las Vegas, vs. current or former Pac-12.
- Music City Bowl: 1:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 30 in Nashville, Tennessee, vs. Big Ten.
- ReliaQuest Bowl: 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31 in Tampa, Florida, vs. Big Ten or ACC.
- Texas Bowl: 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31 in Houston, vs. Big 12.
- Gator Bowl: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Jacksonville, Florida, vs. Atlantic Coast Conference.
All are considered equal in prestige 鈥 there鈥檚 no defined pecking order among them. That鈥檚 part of why the game isn鈥檛 the most important part of what鈥檒l be announced on Sunday, at least in MU administration鈥檚 eyes.
鈥淭o me, the bowl experience is, first of all, about who you鈥檙e playing,鈥 athletics director Laird Veatch said over the weekend, 鈥渟o it can be a meaningful game against a brand that you want to play against. And ideally could be a place and a location that our fans want to get to, and something warm is always nice. But in the end, it鈥檚 about the opponent and the matchup.鈥
When the final CFP rankings come out following this weekend鈥檚 conference championship games, Missouri is likely to land around No. 20. Theoretically, its bowl game opponent will also come from that range 鈥 a team that missed the playoffs but still put together a solid season.
Two bowl options put Mizzou against a Big Ten club, two would see a date with a Big 12 team, one would pair the Tigers with an ACC program and one would see them get one of the Pac-12鈥檚 former teams, now spread across the other three leagues.
In terms of opponent quality, the Big Ten 鈥 in the Music City or Reliaquest Bowls 鈥 would probably be the best bet.
Illinois is an immediate eye-catcher as a possible opponent, but the strength of the Big Ten may actually keep that matchup from happening. If that conference gets its expected four teams into the playoff, Illinois would be the best Big Ten team left out and then go to the Citrus Bowl, which picks before these six games.
The next tier within the Big Ten would be programs like Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Rutgers 鈥 all of which notched at least seven wins. Out of that bunch, the Hawkeyes (8-4, 6-3) would probably be the most competitive pairing for Mizzou. But the Wolverines (7-5, 5-4), as the defending national champions, would present the strongest brand for Missouri to face.
And after beating a Big Ten powerhouse in Ohio State during last year鈥檚 Cotton Bowl, the Tigers could relish a chance to play the other half of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry.
As far as former Pac-12 and Big 12 programs go 鈥 because that pot overlaps these days 鈥 Colorado could be an option in the Liberty, Texas or Vegas Bowls. The Buffs (9-3, 7-2) finished in a four-way tie atop the Big 12 this season and have a media machine coach in Deion Sanders. A bowl game reunion between the former conference foes would lack some of the potential star power, though, because of NFL-related opt-outs.
The losing team from the Big 12 championship game, which will be between Arizona State and Iowa State, could also be a possible Missouri bowl opponent.
There鈥檚 only one game in which MU could play an ACC team that didn鈥檛 just move over from a different conference 鈥 the Gator Bowl 鈥 but that could be another matchup with a traditionally big brand in college football: Clemson.
The orange-and-purple Tigers might be off the table as a potential opponent given that they鈥檒l make the playoff with a win over Southern Methodist in the ACC title game, but should they lose, they鈥檒l be in the right tier for a competitive fixture against a team like Missouri.
Ahead of championship games, the range of possible teams for Mizzou is still rather wide. Firming up the playoff field, for starters, will create more clarity heading into Sunday鈥檚 programming.
鈥淚t鈥檒l start to narrow down,鈥 Veatch said.
