Yahoo Autos Missouri's bowl scenarios ahead of Arkansas game: Here's where the Tigers could be headed
It's no longer a question of whether Missouri football is headed to a bowl game for the first time since 2018.
It's now a question of where.
After last Saturday's overtime victory over Florida, the Tigers reached the six-win bowl-eligibility threshold, meaning their season won't end Friday, regardless of the result against Arkansas.
That's a drastic change for the Tigers, who appeared on only 35% of online lists four weeks ago. Missouri went from undesirable to undeniable for its bowl eligibility.
So where and when could Missouri suit up for a bowl?
While a few enticing matchups exist, the newest to enter the fray since the win over the Gators are two projections that view Missouri facing Central Florida in the postseason.
The Knights and Tigers would give Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz a chance to match wits with UCF head coach Gus Malzahn.
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Drinkwitz views Malzahn as one of his biggest mentors in coaching, with their ties going beyond the FBS, to Springdale (Ark.) High School. The two worked together at Auburn and Arkansas State as well.
Both ESPN's Kyle Schlabach and College Football News predict Missouri will face UCF at the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 28 at Protective Life Stadium. The Tigers won both previous gridiron matchups between the teams, with the latest coming in 2014.
ESPN's Kyle Bonagura predicts Missouri will face Appalachian State in the Gasparilla Bowl on Dec. 23 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
The Tigers vs. Mountaineers clash would see Drinkwitz face the only other college team for which he's been the head coach, almost two years after he departed Boone, North Carolina, for Boone County.
A few full-time Missouri assistants followed Drinkwitz to Missouri from Appalachian State, including special teams coordinator Erik Link, associate head coach and defensive backs coach Charlie Harbison, and linebackers coach D.J. Smith.
Tigers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks is a Mountaineers alum and coached at his alma mater for one season, when the school was a member of the FCS, formerly known as Division I-AA, in 2001. App State and Missouri have never faced on the gridiron.
