The red-hot Missouri Tigers will look to end the 2017 football season on a seven-game winning streak, but will have to go through the Texas Longhorns, and their legion of fans, on Texas soil to do so.
MU, on Sunday afternoon, learned that the Tigers will play Texas in the Texas Bowl, on NRG Stadium in Houston on Wednesday night, December 27th at 8 o’clock. Pregame will hit the air at 6 on the state-wide Tiger Radio Network, and local affiliate KTTN FM 92.3.
Missouri comes into the game with a 7-5 record, with Texas at 6-6. Both programs will be in the Texas Bowl for the second time, as Mizzou lost to the Naval Academy in 2009 by a score of 35-13, while the ‘Horns lost to long-time rival Arkansas, 31-7 in 2014.
The Tigers and Longhorns will meeting for the 24th time in their respective histories, but the first since 2011, when Texas traveled to Columbia and absorbed a 17-5 defeat. The following winter, Missouri announced its move to the Southeastern Conference, completed in the summer of 2012. Texas, all-time, has won 17 of the 23 meetings with MU.
A victory would make Missouri just the second team in NCAA history (joining 2008 Rutgers) to start a season 1-5, and end up winning eight games. The Tigers offense has been the vocal point of the season turnaround, with junior quarterback Drew Lock setting a new SEC record with a national-best 43 touchdown passes this season. Under first-year Head Coach Tom Herman, Texas has had an up-and-down 2017 season, but did clinch bowl eligibility with 28-14 win over West Virginia on November 18th. The following week, Texas Tech beat the Longhorns, in Austin.
Good news has been in abundance with Barry Odom’s program at Mizzou, as the school announced late last week with junior defensive tackle Terry Beckner, Jr. has elected to return for his senior season, with the East St. Louis, Illinois native not entering his named for early entry into the 2018 NFL Draft. Beckner, Jr. has amassed seven quarterback sacks this season, fifth among all SEC defenders, and tied for first in the conference among tackles.
