Roaring into Dallas
Welcome to Mizzou Wire’s Live Wire Blog. For the next few days, we’ll be covering the Cotton Bowl — the last hurrah in a historic season for Tiger football.
So just how historic has it been? Though often repeated, the brags and “first-ever” facts are impressive enough to list again here.
Mizzou won 11 games for the first time in program history, with only two losses (both coming against BCS No. 4 Oklahoma). To truly grasp the magnitude of that fact, consider this one: Mizzou hadn’t won nine games in a season since 1969 and has reached that mark or higher only four times.
Going into the Cotton Bowl, Mizzou ranks as BCS No. 6 and AP No. 7. After a win over rival Kansas (then BCS No. 2) on Nov. 24 at Arrowhead Stadium, Mizzou sat atop national rankings at No. 1 for the first time since 1960.
Despite being left out of the BCS bowl picture, Mizzou beat two BCS bowl teams, Kansas and Illinois. The Tigers are the only team to do so this season.
Mizzou won its first-ever Big 12 North divisional title and made its first trip to the Big 12 Championship game.
The list goes on.
Now, Mizzou prepares to take on the AP No. 25 Arkansas Razorbacks in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic at 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 1 in Dallas. It’s the first New Year’s Day bowl for the Tigers since 1970, and it pits two Heisman candidates against each other: Mizzou’s Chase Daniel and Arkansas’ Darren McFadden.
Can the Tigers add another highlight to the list — and increase their win column to a staggering 12 in the process?
Follow the celebration and the game here. You can check in for new information or subscribe to the Live Wire Blog feed to keep up with the action.
Photo by Shane Epping
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