On Tuesday afternoon, Missouri head coach Barry Odom said he was going to be paying close attention to the evening’s release of the College Football Playoff rankings.
“Speaking very honest, I don’t know why we aren’t ranked,” Odom said on the PowerMizzou.com podcast. “You look at some of the guys that are and then you match up the strength of schedule and what our record is, what we’ve done, how well we’re playing right now, I don’t understand it.”
That changed on Tuesday night. The Tigers are ranked No. 24 in the latest edition of the CFP rankings.
The Tigers are two spots out of the top 25 in the Associated Press poll and four out of the coaches' poll, but the CFP rankings are the ones that matter at this point. It is the first time the Tigers have been ranked in any of the major polls since week four of the 2015 season.
"Absolutely it means something to all of us within the organization because it means that we’re making progress and moving forward," Odom said.
But the reveal of the rankings had good news for the Tigers beyond their own inclusion. Florida is ranked ninth and LSU 10th. While it's not assured, that means it is very likely both, along with Georgia (No.4) and Alabama (No. 1) will be participants in the New Year's Six bowls.
After those bowls are filled, the Citrus Bowl has its choice of the best available SEC team. Kentucky is the next-highest ranked team at No. 15 and would seem a logical choice to play there.
After the Citrus Bowl makes its pick, the "pool of six" SEC bowls work with the league to fill spots that, theoretically, are viewed as equal.
Each SEC team submits its top three choices for bowl destinations. PowerMizzou.com has been told that the Tigers' desire is to play in Florida. The Gator Bowl would likely be Missouri's top choice. The Music City Bowl and the Liberty Bowl are Missouri's other likely potential landing spots.
“You can make the most out of every situation, every bowl game that you’re going to," Odom said. "If I could pick it out, you would want the weather to be about 80 degrees and sunny so if we can project where that’s going to be and get that one locked in, I’ll take it.”
There has been talk that Texas A&M (8-4, No. 19) would also prefer to play in Florida. If the Aggies get their wish, the Gator Bowl could be their spot. Mississippi State (8-4, No. 18) played in Jacksonville last year, so is unlikely to return. The Bulldogs or Aggies could both be a target of the Outback Bowl. If A&M was selected by that game, the Gator would likely take Missouri with Mississippi State headed to either the Music City or Texas Bowl.
Should Kentucky, A&M and Mississippi State fill the three Florida spots, the Tigers would be a natural fit in the Music City Bowl, just a six-hour drive from campus and a game their fans could easily attend. That game would be a matchup with either an ACC (Boston College, NC State, Miami) or a Big Ten (Wisconsin, Michigan State) team. One hindrance is that Purdue could be in play for the Music City Bowl and no bowl game wants a regular season rematch.
In other words, there is still a lot of unknown.
"They (SEC officials) have direct open communication with our bowl committee in-house," Odom said. "There’s been a lot of dialogue going on, a lot of communication with the league office and our administration."
Bowl destinations will be announced this Sunday evening.
