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The annual college football cornucopia of bowl games began last Saturday with Washington pummeling Boise State in the Bucked Up LA Bowl and ends Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., when the last two survivors of the 12-team playoff meet in the national championship game.
In between, Show Me State fans of the Missouri Tigers and Missouri State Bears will have rooting interests in the Gator Bowl and the XBox Bowl, respectively.
The 2025 college football postseason, with 47 games in total between the standalone bowls and the playoffs, provides one of the first big tests for mobile and retail sportsbook operators in Missouri since sports betting launched in the state on Dec. 1.
Bears surprisingly bowl-bound
Missouri State, in its first year in Conference USA after transitioning from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), went 7-5 and finished fourth in the 12-team conference standings.
Due to FCS-to-FBS rules regarding bowl eligibility, it looked like the Bears would be left out of the postseason, CBS Sports reported.
“Teams in transition are prohibited from postseason events for two years, including their final season in the FCS. The probationary period enables athletic departments to implement improvements and meet specific criteria to compete in the FBS, including expanding scholarship opportunities and enhancing facilities.”
But following Missouri State’s appeal, and the NCAA falling short of 82 teams reaching the six-win status needed for bowl eligibility, the Bears got a ticket to the XBox Bowl. It will be played at 8 p.m. CT on Thursday, Dec. 18, at the Ford Center in Frisco, TX, a 12,000-seat indoor stadium primarily serving as a practice facility for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
The Bears will face the 6-6 Arkansas State Red Wolves, who qualified out of the Sun Belt Conference.
Bears lose coach
Though Missouri State reached a key milestone in its first FBS year, it’s also a team in transition, as head coach Ryan Beard announced that he’ll be leaving to coach Coastal Carolina.
Coastal Carolina athletic director Chance Miller told ESPN that Beard was the perfect hire.
“We landed one of the nation’s best young coaches to be the head coach of our football team. Teal Nation will love Ryan Beard’s energy, work-ethic and passion, and he is the perfect leader for this program. His track record of elevating teams, maximizing talent, and developing student-athletes speaks for itself.
“Everywhere he has been – from Western Kentucky, Louisville, and Central Michigan to leading Missouri State through a successful FBS transition – Coach Beard has shown an exceptional ability to inspire, transform, and win.”
According to Oddschecker, five sportsbooks operating in Missouri see the Bears as slight underdogs in the XBox Bowl.
Tigers to face Cavaliers in Jacksonville
Meanwhile, the Missouri Tigers finished 8-4 in a crowded Southeastern Conference, besting perennial powers like LSU, Auburn, and Florida to land a berth in the Gator Bowl. It takes place at 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday, Dec. 27, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, FL.
The contest comes toward the tail end of a crowded college football day featuring eight different bowl games, starting at 9 a.m. with the Go Bowling Military Bowl between Pittsburgh and East Carolina, and ending with the Texas Bowl between LSU and Houston starting at 7:15 p.m.
Per Sports Illustrated, Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz, speaking before media on Tuesday, said he expects to have all his players on the field for the game.
“I think for us, the main thing is the opportunity to continue to compete and grow. And as a program that is trying to emerge to the highest levels, you never shy away from an opportunity to compete.
“I feel for the most part that we’re going to be as close to full strength as we can. I haven’t had any NFL declarations yet, those grades for underclassmen will come back this week. So, I think there’s still things that could change, but as of now, I feel very confident in our senior class wanting to play and play at a high level.”
The Gator Bowl is something of a consolation prize for Missouri’s opponent, the Virginia Cavaliers, which went into the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a 10-2 record and playoff aspirations. But the Cavaliers were upended by 7-5 Duke, opening the door for Miami to be the lone ACC representative in the 12-team playoff field.
Duke is off to the Sun Bowl in El Paso on New Year’s Eve to face Arizona State, while Miami enters the playoffs on Dec. 20 playing at Texas A&M.
According to Oddschecker, Missouri is a consensus 6.5 to 7-point favorite.
