Dallas ? Last Jan. 1, Missouri players were on their couches gorging on the action and recovering from a last-second Sun Bowl loss a few days earlier.
Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon recalls spending the day channel-surfing at a friend’s house in Jasper, Texas. He also recalls oversleeping the early-starting Cotton Bowl, set for 10:40 a.m.
“Just hanging out, chillin’,” Weatherspoon said. “I did sleep in. I won’t be sleeping in this year.”
The No. 7 Tigers (11-2) are part of the extravaganza this year, with Tuesday’s leadoff-man matchup against No. 25 Arkansas (8-4) the school’s first New Year’s Day appearance in 38 years. That soothes the pain of being No. 1 one week and left out of the BCS picture the next.
Missouri’s last major bowl appearance was the Orange in 1970, a 10-3 loss to Penn State to wrap up a 9-2 season, and though it’s the fourth postseason trip in five years for the Tigers it’s only the sixth since 1983. They’ve played in the Cotton Bowl only once, in 1946.
“If they would have told us at the beginning of the year we’d be 11-2 and going to the Cotton Bowl that would have been the best thing we’d ever heard,” defensive tackle Lorenzo Williams said. “How it felt for us, it was a little disappointing early on.
“But now, no way.”
Of course, they’d rather be winding up the evening’s festivities at the Sugar Bowl. Williams recalls waking up at halftime of last year’s Cotton Bowl.
“It would be a little bit cooler if you were the last game, but it’s still a great situation,” Williams said. “We’ve got a great opportunity to play against a great team, and we’re really excited about it.”
MU’s heavy Texas contingent makes it easier to love this game. There are 18 players from Texas on the squad, six starters.
Texas is a prime recruiting territory for coach Gary Pinkel, who has five coaches assigned to the state. Quarterback Chase Daniel, fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting this year, was a high school star at the Dallas suburb of Southlake. According to Rivals.com, half of the 18 commitments for next year come from Texas prospects.
