Bowl projections: Mizzou eyeing NY6 bid; what about K-State and KU?

Missouri’s game-winning kick against Florida has them in a great position to make their first ever New Year’s Six bowl.

Posted: Nov 20, 2023 / 05:24 PM CST

Updated: Nov 20, 2023 / 05:24 PM CST

NOTE: All rankings in this article are referencing the CFP rankings that were released on Nov. 14. Unlike the AP which releases rankings every Sunday, the CFP reveals theirs every Tuesday night. However, the final rankings prior to Bowl selection will be released on Sunday, Dec. 3.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — No. 9 Missouri’s game-winning kick against Florida has them in a great position to make their first ever New Year’s Six bowl.

The College Football Playoff put it into existence at the start of the 2014-2015 season.

The last time the Tigers made a bowl of this caliber was the year prior to the CFP’s berth when they took down Oklahoma State 41-31 in the Cotton Bowl.

Missouri Tigers

All Mizzou has to do is beat a struggling Arkansas team on Saturday for the final regular season game, and they should be locked into one of the four bowls just outside CFP contention.

This season, those bowl games that the Tigers could be in line for include the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl and Peach Bowl.

Right now the biggest sports media projections have them falling in either the Peach Bowl, Fiesta Bowl or the Cotton Bowl. The Peach Bowl has been clamored about the most since ESPN and CBS Sports both see them heading to Atlanta for that game.

Their projected opponents for the three bowls mentioned include Tulane, Washington and Penn State.

The full projections from ESPN, CBS Sports, Fox Sports and Fansided can all be seen at the bottom of this story.

Kansas Jayhawks

No. 21 Kansas State and No. 25 Kansas on the other hand are well on the outside of NY6 bowl contention.

The Jayhawks got bounced out of their Big 12 championship odds after their loss in the Sunflower Showdown.

Kansas’ bowl projections have them landing in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Phoenix, Arizona) or the Texas Bowl in Houston.

Their opponents are being predicted as Northwestern, South Carolina Texas A&M or Auburn.

Kansas State Wildcats

The Wildcats are in a three-way tie for second place with No. 14 Oklahoma and No. 23 Oklahoma State, all with 6-2 conference records. The two Big 12 losses K-State has are to the Cowboys and the Sooners.

The confusing Big 12 rules have tried and failed a couple of times to clarify exactly what happens in the event all three win their final regular season games, and No. 7 Texas (7-1) loses theirs resulting in a four-way tie.

Of course, this could all work itself out if the Longhorns take care of business at home on Friday versus Texas Tech.

If they do, K-State has to beat Iowa State this weekend, along with losses from Oklahoma (against TCU) and Oklahoma State (against BYU). That would push the Wildcats into the Big 12 Championship game for the second straight season.

Out of the three second-place teams, the Cowboys are in the driver’s seat for Arlington as they have head-to-head wins over both Kansas State and their in-state rival.

With all that said, bowl projections don’t worry about what’s to come next. This week K-State’s most popular predictions have them ending up in either the Texas Bowl, Pop-Tarts Bowl or Alamo Bowl.

Those scenarios have the Wildcats’ opponent being Texas A&M, North Carolina, Auburn or Oregon State.