Following their 17-5 defeat of the Texas Longhorns this past Saturday, the Missouri Tigers took a big step towards becoming bowl eligible. Not only did the Tigers bring themselves to within one victory of qualifying for postseason play, they also notched an important victory as they try and ascend the Big 12 pecking order. As of Week 12, SB Nation's Jason Kirk is projecting that the Tigers will play in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 28 against the Washington Huskies.
Obviously, that slot is no gimme, though. The Tigers will host the Texas Tech Raiders on Saturday, and though they will be favored, that game is not an automatic victory. A victory over the Kansas Jayhawks in the final week of the season seems more likely, but you can never count out any team in a rivalry game. It is also possible that the Tigers bowl prospects would improve, as the two teams ahead of them— the Texas Longhorns and the Baylor Bears— have more daunting schedules ahead. The Longhorns' next two games are against Kansas State and Texas A&M, and there's a chance that they will be the underdogs in both, while Baylor will face off against Texas Tech and Oklahoma in their next two match ups. Then, Texas and Baylor will face each other in the final week of the season, a game which could decide which team gets pushed below Mizzou in the Big 12 bowl ledger.
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