The Missouri Tigers are headed to their 37th bowl game and their fifth consecutive bid, though fourth consecutive appearance, when it plays the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Music City Bowl in Nasvhille, Tennessee on Monday, Dec. 30 at 1:30 p.m. central time.
“It’s an honor to be selected to participate in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity to play at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. It’s a great market for our alumni and fanbase and I know we’ll have an excited crowd. Our team worked extremely hard to achieve this goal and we are looking forward to preparing and playing against a terrific Iowa squad. I’m just thankful I get to coach this special group of men for one more game this season.”
The matchup is four years in the making because the Tigers are Hawkeyes were set to match up in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30, 2020, but the game was canceled.
It will be the first time Missouri and Iowa meet on the football field since 2010 and the 14th time in program history, with Mizzou leading the all-time series 7-6.
“On behalf of our Board of Directors, staff and volunteers, we look forward to welcoming the Hawkeyes and Tigers to Music City for our 27th annual TransPerfect Music City Bowl,” TransPerfect Music City Bowl President and CEO Scott Ramsey said. “This year’s game will showcase two teams that won a combined 17 games in the two strongest conferences in the country and we expect a great turnout of fans flooding Nashville.”
Missouri is 16-20 all time in bowl games and is coming off a 14-3 win against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl last season.
To this point, the Tigers will be missing wide receiver Luther Burden and right tackle Armand Membou, who have both declared for the NFL Draft.
Iowa at this point will miss running back Kaleb Johnson, defensive back Jermari Harris and quarterback Cade McNamara.
Johnson is preparing for the NFL Draft after amassing 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns on 240 rushing attempts this season. Iowa rushed for 2,398 yards and 29 touchdowns as a team.
Harris is also preparing for the draft after recording 27 tackles, one tackle for loss, three interceptions and seven passes broken up.
McNamara announced his intention to enter the transfer portal and has not played the past four games.
According to Hawkeye Beacon lead analyst Eliot Clough, junior quarterback Brendan Sullivan is likely to start with sophomore Jackson Stratton competing in bowl prep.
Both have played through the year, and Stratton has played the Hawkeyes’ past two games fully.
Sullivan has completed 24-of-35 passes for 344 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in nine games. Stratton has completed 21-of-35 passes for 219 yards and one touchdown in three games.
