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Want a New Year’s vacation at Disney World?
Tigers fans who choose to follow Missouri to Orlando, Fla., for the Citrus Bowl will get just that. Mizzou (10-3) will play Minnesota (8-4) on Jan. 1, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. ET.
The Citrus Bowl is the top SEC-affiliated postseason game not including the New Year’s Six and College Football Playoff-affiliated bowls. That means the conference determined the Tigers are the fourth-best SEC team behind Alabama, Mississippi State and Ole Miss. (Mizzou ranked No. 16 in the CFP poll behind Georgia.)
Coach Gary Pinkel’s team probably would’ve made a New Year’s Six bowl by beating Alabama in the SEC championship, but lost, 42-13, after winning back-to-back SEC East titles.
Still, the opportunity to win 23 games in two seasons awaits, and that would represent a tremendous accomplishment considering the heavy personnel losses the team suffered after last season.
Minnesota is a run-oriented, physical Big Ten offense led by David Cobb (1,548 rushing yards). The Golden Gophers also field a decent defense, allowing just 23.4 points per game. Missouri played a similar team in Arkansas to end the regular season, winning 21-14.
The game is one of three set to broadcast on ABC (out of 39).
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
