Where do experts have Mizzou football bowling, and who should MU fans root for Saturday?

On Sunday, the long wait will be over.

Mizzou football is 10-2 and waiting on a likely invitation to a New Year’s Six Bowl after being ranked No. 9 for the third straight week by the College Football Playoff committee, two spots ahead of its closest in-conference challenger, Ole Miss.

Of course, "likely" isn’t a reassuring word in Columbia. Unlike actual bowling (Sorry, Walter), there are few fixed rules when it comes to the whims of the committee.

But come Sunday, the Tigers will find out where they’re headed for the postseason. And the prognosticators like Missouri’s chances for the selection-committee bowls.

So, where do the projections have the Tigers heading?

And what should MU fans be hoping for on championship Saturday to maximize its end-of-year rankings come Tuesday’s final CFP rankings release?

Here are a series of projections for Missouri’s postseason, and what Tiger fans should be rooting for Saturday:

Brett McMurphy, Action Network

How about a soon-to-be all-SEC bash to close both the year and, with it, the last decade of Southeastern Conference football?

Action Network’s Brett McMurphy — a year from repeatedly chirping Mizzou for not facing Kansas during the 2022 bowl season — has the Tigers heading to Arlington, Texas, to face Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

Forgive and forget, eh?

The Longhorns, ranked No. 7 in the latest CFP poll, appear to be out of the running for a spot in the playoffs in their final season as a Big 12 team. UT will join the SEC with Oklahoma ahead of the 2024 football season.

The Tigers will face the Sooners in their 2024 slate, but will have to wait to play Texas for the foreseeable future …

… Unless McMurphy’s projections are air tight, that is.

ESPN

Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach of ESPN are in agreement for their landing spot and opponent for Missouri in the postseason.

The Peach Bowl on Dec. 30 in Atlanta to face Tulane.

That’d be a novel one on both counts for the Tigers.

Missouri has not faced the Green Wave since 1926. Mizzou has never played in the Peach Bowl.

Tulane, part of the American Athletic Conference, is currently in line for a New Year’s Six Bowl berth due to the guaranteed spot reserved for a Group of Five team. The Green Wave are 11-1, ranked No. 22 in the CFP poll and face a 10-2 SMU team in the AAC title game Saturday.

Jerry Palm, CBS

Atlanta is a popular landing spot for Missouri.

CBS’ Jerry Palm has the Tigers headed to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons, too. But he has No. 10 Penn State as their Peach Bowl opponent.

The Nittany Lions, like Missouri, finished the regular season 10-2, losing to playoff contenders Ohio State and Michigan.

Mizzou and Penn State last faced each other in 1980. The two teams were Orange Bowl opponents 11 years earlier. The Nittany Lions won both matchups.

James Franklin Bowl, anyone?

How high, how low?

The College Football Playoff is out of the picture, but a CFP-era-high finish is well within reach.

On championship Saturday, three teams within 10 spots of MU — No. 14 Louisville, No. 16 Iowa and No. 18 Oklahoma State — will play in their respective conference title games.

Even if the Hawkeyes manage to stage an upset over No. 2 Michigan in the Big Ten championship, it’s unlikely the committee will offer them an eight-spot reward. The same applies to the Cowboys against Texas.

Louisville faces No. 4 Florida State with a chance to win the ACC and finish the year 11-2. The Cardinals’ only common opponent with Missouri is Kentucky, which Missouri handily beat in October and Louisville lost to last Saturday. Again, even a win over the Jordan Travis-less Seminoles is unlikely to see Louisville leapfrog Eli Drinkwitz’s Tigers.

In short: Missouri’s floor is likely where it currently stands at No. 9.

The ceiling might be more malleable.

If No. 1 Georgia beats No. 8 Alabama, do the Tigers climb a rung? If No. 7 Texas can’t see off Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship, does Missouri jump two spots?

With losses, both the Crimson Tide and the Longhorns would have their second losses of the season and could reasonably fall below the Tigers. A Florida State loss likely wouldn’t drop the Seminoles more than five spots, but a bad loss without their superstar QB might.

While No. 7 — or No. 6 if those Tiger stripe-tinted glasses are on — is possible, Missouri’s safest bet for a New Year’s Six Bowl berth may be for the favorites to run the table.

That means Georgia, Texas, Michigan and Florida State victories, which would all but guarantee Missouri finishes No. 8 or No. 9 and, by all indications, receive a selection bowl invite.

In short: It should be safe to start planning a trip to ring in the New Year’s bells elsewhere.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Where might Missouri football go bowling? Check out expert predictions