TUESDAY
Missouri (10-2) vs. Iowa (7-5), 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Line: Missouri by 2 1/2.
Series Record: Missouri, 7-5.
Last Meeting: 1910, Missouri 5-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
A good end to what was, for the most part, a disappointing season. Missouri had a solid record, getting a chance to win 11 games for the third time in school history, but had bigger aspirations, falling short of a BCS bowl berth. Iowa entered the season with expectations like few other times in program history and was undone by an inability to close out tight games, losing four of its games by a combined 11 points.
KEY MATCHUP
Iowa’s defense vs. Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert. A junior, Gabbert was superb this season, throwing for over 2,700 yards with 15 touchdowns. Those numbers are down a bit from his sophomore season, but Gabbert can pick teams apart in Missouri’s wide-open offense. Iowa has been solid against some good quarterbacks – Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins, Michigan’s Denard Robinson – but Gabbert and the tricky Tigers are a little more like Northwestern and Dan Persa, who threw for over 300 yards and two TDs against the Hawkeyes.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Missouri: TE Michael Egnew. Keeping up with Missouri’s tradition of producing quality tight ends, Egnew became the third straight to earn All-America honors. He led all tight ends with 83 catches, netting 698 yards and four TDs. He also set school records with 13 catches for 145 yards in a win over San Diego State.
Iowa: QB Ricki Stanzi. As a junior, Stanzi was plagued by occasional bad decisions, leading to nearly as many interceptions as touchdowns. He senior season was stellar – over 2,800 yards, 25 TDs, just four INTs – but he was relatively quiet in Iowa’s final two games, and will need to play well against a Missouri team that gives up yards but also creates turnovers.
FACTS & FIGURES
The teams are separated by less than 250 miles, but haven’t played in a century after a particularly brutal game in 1910 that followed 18 years of heated battles. … Iowa is seventh nationally in turnover margin at plus-1.17. … Missouri is making its sixth consecutive bowl appearance. … The Hawkeyes are 2-5 all-time in the state of Arizona, including a 34-27 loss to Arizona earlier this season. … Missouri has the nation’s sixth-best scoring defense, allowing 15.1 points per game. … The Tigers are looking to end a season with four straight wins for the first time since 1965. … Iowa has never played on Dec. 28 in 111 years of football. … Missouri lost 35-13 to Navy in last year’s Texas Bowl. Iowa beat Georgia Tech 24-14 in last season’s Orange Bowl.
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