Citrus Bowl

[25] Gophers vs. [16] Missouri

Noon, Jan. 1 • Orlando, Citrus Bowl • TV: Ch. 5

About Missouri (10-3): The Tigers, winners of the SEC East Division, lost to Alabama on Saturday night in the SEC Championship Game. The Tigers were within one score in the third quarter, but the Crimson Tide pulled away and won 42-13. Missouri's other two losses this season were much worse. They were upset in one of the season's early head-scratchers, losing to lowly Indiana at home, 31-27. Their next home game was just as bad, when Georgia came to town and pounded the Tigers 34-0. But Missouri picked itself back up and won six in a row to take the SEC East. They built an impressive road resume, winning at Texas A&M, Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida.

Missouri's best players: Maty Mauk is their quarterback. He was awful in the loss to Georgia (four picks), but rebounded to play pretty well down the stretch. Alabama crushed running back Russell Hansbrough (just 21 yards), but the junior had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage this season, including 199 rushing yards against A&M. Bud Sasser and Jimmie Hunt combined for over 1,500 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns. Defensive end Shane Ray, who was ejected in the SEC title game for an illegal hit, had a strong season.

Missouri's coach: Gary Pinkel, the winningest coach in school history. Tigers coach since 2001, he has a 112-66 record in Columbia and has guided the Tigers to the SEC title game for the second season in a row.

Recent Citrus Bowl history

The Big Ten has lost to the SEC in the past four Citrus Bowls (the game was called the Capital One Bowl from 2003 until this season). South Carolina beat Wisconsin at the end of last season, Georgia beat Nebraska the year prior, South Carolina beat the Huskers at the end of the 2011 season and Alabama pounded Michigan State to end the 2010 season. Penn State is the last Big Ten school to win in Orlando, beating LSU 19-17 on Jan. 1, 2010.