Mizzou to play in Armed Forces Bowl against Army
For the first time since 2018, Missouri will participate in the college football postseason. The Tigers will do so in the Armed Forces Bowl, according to a release from the Southeastern Conference. They will face Army. The game will be played on Dec. 22 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Missouri has never before participated in the Armed Forces Bowl. The game does not normally have an SEC tie, but because 13 of 14 SEC teams attained bowl eligibility this season, the league had to send some teams to non-traditional bowl games.
Missouri finished the 2021 regular season 6-6. Eli Drinkwitz and his team achieved bowl eligibility when they upset Florida on a walk-off two-point conversion on Nov. 20.
The Tigers haven't played Army since 1982. The Black Knights are 8-3 and will finish their regular season next week against Navy. Behind its triple-option offense, Army ranks second nationally in rushing this season at 301.72 yards per game.
On Missouri's side, star running back Tyler Badie told reporters following Missouri's loss at Arkansas that he planned to play in the team's bowl game. Badie, a likely NFL Draft pick, set the school's single-season rushing record with 1,612 yards this year. The big question for Missouri will come at quarterback, where Drinkwitz pulled Connor Bazelak from the Arkansas game in favor of redshirt freshman Brady Cook after Bazelak completed just 10 of 26 passes for 65 yards and an interception.
This marked the third season in a row Missouri has finished with a record of .500, but the Tigers have not participated in the past two postseasons. In 2019, the team was banned from the postseason as a result of NCAA violations. Last season, the Tigers accepted a bid to play Iowa in the Music City Bowl, but a COVID-19 outbreak on the roster forced the team to withdraw. Missouri has not played in a bowl game since 2018, when it lost the Liberty Bowl against Oklahoma State. The team has not won a bowl game since the 2014 Citrus Bowl.
The contest will mark Drinkwitz's first bowl game as a head coach. His Appalachian State team in 2019 played in the New Orleans Bowl, but Drinkwitz had already left to become the head coach at Missouri. If Missouri is able to beat Army, it would be significant for Drinkwitz. His contract includes a stipulation that, if his team wins a bowl game during his first two seasons, he will receive a one-year extension and $100,000 raise.
Missouri is expected to hold a press conference to discuss its bowl berth Sunday afternoon. Stay tuned to PowerMizzou for further coverage.
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