Why Mizzou chose the Music City Bowl
Even after losing to Mississippi State on Saturday, Missouri essentially had its choice of where it would play in the postseason. With attendance at bowl games limited this year, the usual behind-the-scenes politicking that determines which teams will play where in college football’s postseason were replaced by a straightforward system: SEC teams would rank bowl games in order of preference, and they would be assigned a destination in order of record.
As a result, most fans (and media prognosticators) predicted the Tigers would wind up in Florida, playing in either the Outback or Gator bowl. Instead, Missouri announced Sunday that it will face Iowa in the Music City Bowl, which will be played Dec. 30 at 3 p.m.
The decision didn't exactly receive unanimous approval from the fanbase, to say the least. But speaking to reporters Sunday evening, Missouri athletics director Jim Sterk and head coach Eli Drinkwitz made clear that playing in Nashville was the choice of the school. Drinkwitz said the decision was made based on a combination of factors, including location, opponent and date.
“We knew we were going to get matched up against a great Big Ten opponent, we knew we were going to get to be in a city like Nashville, which is a central locale to what most of our players’ families are going to be,” he explained. “And we knew that we were going to be able to go home for Christmas and be home for New Year's. And so when you wrap all of those things together, just made perfect sense.”]
According to Sterk, Missouri wound up with its choice of the “group of six” bowl games with SEC ties, which included the Texas, Liberty and Armed Forces bowls in addition to the Outback, Gator and Music City. The top four teams in the SEC — Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia and Florida — all earned College Football Playoff or New Year’s Six bowl berths. Auburn, which finished the season 6-4, got the next-highest bowl: the Citrus Bowl, played in Orlando on New Year’s Day. Missouri, at 5-5, drew the next pick. Sterk said the football team and coaching staff ultimately had the final say in selecting the Music City Bowl.
“It was what the coaches and team wanted to do,” Sterk said, “and so they chose that.”
Like the rest of the college football season, bowl games won’t operate as they normally would this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There won’t be activities for players and fans in the days leading up to the game. Sterk said Missouri’s travel schedule would be similar to a typical away game. (Drinkwitz revealed that, after players go home for Christmas, the team will practice in Columbia on Dec. 26-27 and in Nashville the 28-29.) As a result, 22 FBS schools have opted out of extending their seasons another game, resulting in the cancelation of 16 bowls.
Still, Drinkwitz said he views the game as a reward for his team, and the players are excited by the opportunity. About a week ago, the school signed a pledge with the SEC saying the team wanted to participate in the postseason.
“One, we get to stay in the Gaylord Opryland hotel instead of that wonderful Hilton Garden Inn that we stayed at in Tupelo last night,” Drinkwitz quipped. “So that's gonna be a step up, no offense to the Hilton Garden Inn. But that's going to be an awesome opportunity. We obviously get bowl gifts and we get recognition. We get bowl gear. … So there’s a lot of rewards, there’s a lot of things. Obviously you get a nationally televised game versus a quality opponent. Get to extend your season.”
Missouri has already had one player announce he will not participate in the bowl game in junior right tackle Larry Borom. Borom, the highest-graded player on the team this season by Pro Football Focus, tweeted Sunday that he will forego the remainder of his college career in order to declare for the NFL Draft. Drinkwitz said he has left the team and will not play in the bowl game.
Aside from Borom, however, Drinkwitz expressed optimism that the majority of Missouri’s players want to play another game. He hasn’t spoken with everyone on the roster yet, he said, but he met with the team’s seniors Sunday and the group expressed excitement about the opportunity. One of those seniors, running back Larry Rountree III, tweeted Sunday that he plans to play in the Music City Bowl, which will be the final game of his college career.
“We will meet with them today and have final conversations to see who all wants to play and if there was anybody that didn't want to play,” Drinkwitz said. “But I anticipate outside of COVID-related issues we’ll have good participation.”
That would be good news for Missouri, as the Tigers can’t afford to lose many more players and field a team. Drinkwitz said Missouri had about 52 scholarship players available Saturday, when the team had three freshmen start in the secondary and wide receiver Kris Abrams-Draine and starting quarterback Shawn Robinson both saw significant playing time at defensive back. He didn’t yet know whether some of the team’s injured players, such as cornerbacks Jarvis Ware and Ishmael Burdine and safety Tyree Gillespie, could return in time for the bowl game, but he said as of now he’s not concerned about having enough players to participate in the game.
“We're gonna have some adversity in this game,” Drinkwitz said, “but it's an opportunity for us to continue to play and continue to compete, and we’re excited to do that.”
Speaking to reporters just a few hours after the bowl announcement became official, Drinkwitz hadn’t yet done much homework on Iowa. He did note the Hawkeyes’ defensive prowess, however, saying a friend of his who coaches in the Big Ten described Iowa’s defensive front as the best his team faced all season. Iowa ranks 13th nationally in total defense, 11th in rushing defense and is tied for seventh in scoring defense. Drinkwitz said the Hawkeyes will be committed to stopping the run on defense and running the ball on offense, “much in the mold” of an SEC team.
But Drinkwitz expressed excitement about the idea of playing a regional opponent in a game located in the same part of the country as both campuses. Throw in the fact that players will be able to travel home for both Christmas and New Year’s Day and he feels the Music City Bowl will be an ideal place to end his debut season.
“This game fit perfectly in the window of opportunity that we wanted for us as a team in order to maximize the opportunity to play, but also give our guys an opportunity to be at home and see their families,” Drinkwitz said. “... We felt like this was the best decision in the best interests of our program.”
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