Dec. 25, 2014
Tigers Make Second-Straight New Year's Day Bowl
►► Defying most all pre-season expectations, the Mizzou Tigers are returning to a New Year's Day bowl game for the second-straight season, as reward for their outstanding 10-3 season which saw them win the program's second consecutive Southeastern Conference Eastern Division Championship, thanks to a 7-1 league mark. After an SEC title game loss to #1 Alabama, the #17 Tigers accepted an invitation to face the #25 Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-4) in the 2015 Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl, set for Jan. 1, 2015, in Orlando, Fla. Kickoff for the game is set for 1 p.m. (Eastern Time), with the game being aired on ABC...
►► This marks the first time that Mizzou has played in New Year's (or later) bowl games in consecutive years since back-to-back Orange Bowls under Dan Devine in 1960 and 1961...
►► Mizzou has a lot to play for, as a win would certainly guarantee the Tigers finish the season ranked. A couple other points of potential motivation include:
- A win would break the school record for most wins in a two-year period. After its 12-win season a year ago, combined with the 10 wins entering the Citrus Bowl, the current Tigers are tied with the 2007-2008 teams which also won 12 and 10 games, respectively...
- A win would make the 2014 team only the 4th in MU history (124 seasons) to win at least 11 games. The others were 1960 (11), 2007 (12) and 2013 (12)...
- Mizzou has won its last two bowl games (2011 Independence, 2014 Cotton), and a win in the Citrus would give MU its first 3-game bowl win streak since Mizzou won three straight in 1973 (Sun), 1978 (Liberty) and 1979 (Hall of Fame)...
Six-Game Win Streak Pays Dividends
►► Picked to finish a distant 4th in the SEC East in pre-season polls, Mizzou set about proving pundits wrong once again a year after winning the East in 2013 (despite being picked to finish 6th in the 7-team east prior to the season). They did just that, thanks in large part to a 6-game win streak to close the regular season, immediately after suffering a bitter 34-0 home loss at the hands of #13 Georgia back on Oct. 11th.
►► After that game, the Tigers regrouped nicely and flew under the radar with wins at Florida (42-13) and at home over Vanderbilt (24-14) and Kentucky (20-10). The win streak was extended to four with a road win at #23 Texas A&M (34-27), a week after the Aggies upset #3 Auburn on the road. Now ranked 19th, Mizzou went to red-hot Tennessee and took care of the Volunteers, 29-21 for its fifth-straight win, and came home to clinch the East via a 21-14 comeback win over Arkansas. Mizzou was underdogs in each of those final three games...
►► During the 6-game streak, Mizzou outscored opponents 101-49 in the 2nd half, and enjoyed a +8 turnover margin (forced 12, gave up 4)...
►► Defensively, the Tigers held opponents in those 6 games to just 98.5 rushing yards per game, and just 281.5 yards of total offense in all...
Mizzou Playing In 31st Bowl Game; 2nd Citrus Bowl
►► For the 31st time in program history (MU is in its 124th season of football), the Mizzou Tigers will be playing in a post-season bowl game. The Citrus Bowl appearance will mark the 10th bowl game for MU under Head Coach Gary Pinkel, in his 14 years patrolling the sidelines in Columbia. Mizzou had a school-record string of seven-consecutive bowl seasons broken in 2012. Mizzou is 14-16 overall in its previous 30 bowl outings, including a mark of 5-4 in nine appearances under Pinkel. Mizzou's last bowl game was a 41-31 win over Oklahoma State in last year's Cotton Bowl...
►► This will mark the 12th New Year's Day (or later) bowl game for Mizzou, and its second in as many seasons. The 2015 game will mark the 69th Citrus Bowl, and the Tigers will be making their second appearance in the tradition-rich game. Mizzou topped Southern Miss, 19-17, in front of 50,466 fans in 1981 back when the game was referred to as the Tangerine Bowl...
►► The Citrus Bowl annually pits an SEC team against a Big Ten foe and the SEC has won the last four meetings, three of which were won by fellow SEC East members ... Last year, South Carolina defeated Wisconsin, 34-24 ... The two leagues are 7-7 over the last 14 games...
►► Tiger Coach Gary Pinkel has never coached in the Citrus Bowl, but he's no stranger to it, as he had the distinction of playing in the 1972 game (back when it was called the Tangerine Bowl), as a standout tight end for Don James' Kent State squad. Kent State lost that game on Dec. 29, 1972, as Tampa claimed a 21-18 win...
Mizzou-Minnesota Series History
►► When Mizzou and Minnesota meet in this year's Citrus Bowl, they will renew a rivalry that has not been contested since 1970 back when legendary Tiger coach Dan Devine patrolled the sidelines. Mizzou owns a slim 4-3-1 series advantage in the previous eight meetings. In the last five meetings between Mizzou and Minnesota, the Tigers have allowed just 18 points (3.6per game) and have shutout Minnesota three times in that span...
►► This will be the first matchup between Mizzou and Minnesota on neutral territory as all eight previous meetings were played in either Columbia or Minneapolis...
►► Minnesota is making its first appearance in the Citrus Bowl and its third consecutive bowl game under Coach Jerry Kill. It will be Minnesota's first January bowl game since 1962 when the Gophers defeated UCLA, 21-3, in the Rose Bowl.
