The Missouri Tigers are 10-2 and were ranked ninth once again in the weekly College Football Playoff rankings. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
Terrance Williams
Staff Writer
The final College Football Playoff rankings of the regular season were unveiled earlier this week and much to no one’s surprise, the Missouri Tigers remained ranked No. 9 in the Top 25 poll.
Missouri is coming off a shellacking win over Arkansas and looked every bit like the ninth-best team in the country as it ran over the Razorbacks, 48-14.
This week though, the Tigers are off. No games to play and no opponents to prepare for.
It’s Championship Week, where the different conferences determine their league champions, which will help set the bowl game schedule.
The top four teams will make the College Football Playoffs and play in either the Rose Bowl or Sugar Bowl on January 1. All the other bowl game participants will find out their opponent and destination this Sunday, when ESPN airs its Bowl Game Selection Show.
Missouri is 10-2 and finished second in the SEC East. Most experts believe that and the Tigers’ No. 9 CFP ranking will earn the team a spot in one of the other New Year’s Six bowl games. Other possible teams that aren’t playing in a conference championship game this weekend, include No. 6 Ohio State, No. 10 Penn State, and No. 11 Ole Miss.
If the rankings hold true through the rest of the weekend, that would mean Mizzou would be headed to either the Cotton Bowl (Dallas – Dec. 29), the Orange Bowl (Miami – Dec. 30), the Peach Bowl (Atlanta – Dec. 30), or the Fiesta Bowl (Phoenix – Jan. 1), but nothing is for sure until the announcements are made.
Though it seems likely Missouri will be in one of the New Year’s Six bowls, different experts have different thoughts about which game the Tigers might get invited to.
Here’s a list of what some of the more prominent experts wrote in their most recent projections:
CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Penn State (Dec. 30 in Atlanta): 11:00 am on ESPN
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Tulane (Dec. 30 in Atlanta) 11:00 am on ESPN
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Tulane (Dec. 30 in Atlanta) 11:00 am on ESPN
Action Network’s Brett McMurphy: Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs Texas (Dec. 29 in Arlington) 7:00 pm on ESPN
The Athletic: Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs Texas (Dec. 29 in Arlington) 7:00 pm on ESPN
FOX Sports: Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs Penn State (Dec. 29 in Arlington) 7:00 pm on ESPN
Sporting News: Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs Texas (Dec. 29 in Arlington) 7:00 pm on ESPN
USA Today: Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs Texas (Dec. 29 in Arlington) 7:00 pm on ESPN
247Sports:Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs Penn State (Dec. 29 in Arlington) 7:00 pm on ESPN
Athlon Sports: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Penn State (Dec. 30 in Atlanta) 11:00 am on ESPN
College Football News: Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs Tulane (Dec. 29 in Arlington) 7:00 pm on ESPN
College Football Network: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl vs Texas (Jan. 1 in Glendale) 12:00 pm on ESPN
2023 Missouri Tigers Football Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 31, 2023 (Thursday) | 7:00 PM | South Dakota | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network | W, 35-10 |
| September 9, 2023 (Saturday) | 6:00 PM | Middle Tennessee | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network | W, 23-19 |
| September 16, 2023 (Saturday) | 11:00 AM | Kansas State | Faurot Field | | Tiger Radio Network | W, 30-27 |
| September 23, 2023 (Saturday) | 6:30 PM | Memphis | St. Louis, Mo. / The Dome at America’s Center |  | Tiger Radio Network | W, 34-27 |
| September 30, 2023 (Saturday) | 3:00 PM | Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. | | Tiger Radio Network | W, 38-21 |
| October 7, 2023 (Saturday) | 11 AM | LSU | Faurot Field |  | Tiger Radio Network | L, 49-39 |
| October 14, 2023 (Saturday) | 6:30 PM | Kentucky | Lexington, Ky. | | Tiger Radio Network | W, 38-21 |
| October 21, 2023 (Saturday) | 2:30 PM | South Carolina | Faurot Field | | Tiger Radio Network | W, 34-12 |
| November 4, 2023 (Saturday) | 2:30 PM | Georgia | Athens, Ga. |  | Tiger Radio Network | L, 30-21 |
| November 11, 2023 (Saturday) | 2:30 PM | Tennessee | Faurot Field | | Tiger Radio Network | W, 36-7 |
| November 18, 2023 (Saturday) | 6:30 PM | Florida | Faurot Field | | Tiger Radio Network | W, 33-31 |
| November 24, 2023 (Friday) | 3:00 PM | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | | Tiger Radio Network | W, 48-14 |
| TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | Tiger Radio Network |