It was just a matter of making the announcement in Columbia on Sunday. All week fans and the media speculated that Missouri would be heading to the Independence Bowl to face Arkansas. With a packed press box, bull of Tiger fans, Glen Krupica, executive director of the Independence Bowl, confirmed the speculation. This marks the Tigers first trip to a bowl game, since they beat West Virginia in the Insight.com Bowl in 1998. Both teams will enter the New Year’s Eve with records of 8-4 and it marks the first time since 1993 that the Independence Bowl has two teams with at least eight wins. Krupica said they were excited to have both Mizzou and Arkansas in the game saying, “We think it’s gonna be one of the best match ups within the bowl business.” The Independence Bowl will mark the fourth meeting between the two schools and the first since 1963; a game Mizzou won 7-6 on the road. They also met in 1944 and 1906 and Mizzou leads the series 2-1.
