No. 22 Northwestern (9-3)
               vs.
No. 25 Missouri (9-4)

Date: Dec. 29

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Location: San Antonio

Television: ESPN

Payout: $2.25 million

Last result: Penn State 24, Texas A&M 17

2008 results:  Missouri; Northwestern

2008 statistics: Missouri; Northwestern

Tickets: Buy them here

Coaches: Gary Pinkel (Missouri); Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern)

Bowl history/last appearance: Missouri 11-14 (won 38-7 over Arkansas in '08 Cotton); Northwestern 1-5 (lost 50-38 to UCLA in '05 Sun)

Series: Northwestern leads 4-3 (Missouri 34-19 in '27, 13-6 in '67, 28-3 in '87; Northwestern 24-6 in '15, 27-0 in '32, 23-12 in '63, 27-23 in '85)

What Missouri must do to win: Wildcats QB C.J. Bacher has thrown just as many touchdowns as interceptions in each of his past two seasons at the helm. He isn’t what you would describe as consistent, so if the Tigers are firing on all cylinders to start the game and jump out to an early lead, Bacher is likely to feel much of the burden to keep pace and that’s when bad decision making gets more frequent. 

Missouri, however, has its own psychological issues after getting taken apart by Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game, a week after losing a tough one to rival Kansas.

What Northwestern must do to win: One of the more suspect pass defenses in the Big Ten, the Wildcats will have their work cut out for them against the explosive Tigers attack spearheaded by QB Chase Daniel and featuring WR Jeremy Maclin and TE Chase Coffman.  If Missouri gets it going early, Northwestern needs to maintain its composure and realize that this is likely to be a shootout.

The Wildcats pass rush has been effective this season, leading the Big Ten in sacks, so the hope is that someone such as DE Corey Wootten can break through and make a big play in the Tigers backfield to swing the momentum their way.

What the NFL is watching: Maclin and Coffman overshadow Missouri’s pro prospects on the other side of the football — safety William Moore and LB Sean Weatherspoon.

Opening point spread: Missouri by 14.5 (66)

Prediction: Missouri 42, Northwestern 31

MVP: Missouri WR Jeremy Maclin

Live vote: Who will win?

BOWL BREAKDOWNS Click on each game for a recap of the action                                             BCS GAMES    1/8: Championship — No. 1 Florida 24, No. 2 Oklahoma 14    1/5: Fiesta — No. 3 Texas 24, No. 10 Ohio State 21    1/2: Sugar — No. 7 Utah 31, No. 4 Alabama 17    1/1: Orange — No. 21 Virginia Tech 20, No. 12 Cincinnati 7    1/1: Rose — No. 5 USC 38, No. 6 Penn State 24                                           OTHER BOWLS    1/6: GMAC — Tulsa 45, No. 23 Ball State 13    1/3: International — Connecticut 38, Buffalo 20    1/2: Liberty — Kentucky 25, East Carolina 19    1/2: Cotton — No. 20 Mississippi 47, No. 8 Texas Tech 34    1/1: Capital One — No. 16 Georgia 24, No. 19 Michigan State 12    1/1: Gator — Nebraska 26, Clemson 21    1/1: Outback — Iowa 31, South Carolina 10 12/31: Chick-fil-A — LSU 38, No. 14 Georgia Tech 3 12/31: Insight — Kansas 42, Minnesota 21 12/31: Music City — Vanderbilt 16, Boston College 14 12/31: Sun — No. 24 Oregon State 3, No. 18 Pittsburgh 0 12/31: Armed Forces — Houston 34, Air Force 28 12/30: Holiday — No. 15 Oregon 42, No. 13 Oklahoma State 31 12/30: Texas — Rice 38, Western Michigan 14 12/30: Humanitarian — Maryland 42, Nevada 35 12/29: Alamo — No. 25 Missouri 30, No. 22 Northwestern 23, OT 12/29: PapaJohns.com — Rutgers 29, North Carolina State 23 12/28: Independence — Louisiana Tech 17, Northern Illinois 10 12/27: Emerald — California 24, Miami 17 12/27: Champs Sports — Florida State 42, Wisconsin 13 12/27: Meineke Car Care — West Virginia 31, North Carolina 30 12/26: Motor City — Florida Atlantic 24, Central Michigan 21 12/24: Hawaii — Notre Dame 49, Hawaii 21 12/23: Poinsettia — No. 11 TCU 17, No. 9 Boise State 16 12/21: New Orleans — Southern Miss 30, Troy 27, OT 12/20: Las Vegas — Arizona 31, No. 17 BYU 21 12/20: St. Petersburg — South Florida 41, Memphis 14 12/20: New Mexico — Colorado State 40, Fresno State 35 12/20: EagleBank — Wake Forest 29, Navy 19

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