COLUMBIA, Mo. -- For weeks Missouri linebacker Terez Hall has talked about playing a bowl game in a tropical climate, usually Hawaii -- never mind that the Southeastern Conference doesn't have a bowl game in Hawaii.
So when the news came Sunday that the Tigers (8-4) will play Oklahoma State in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., on New Year's Eve -- and not in Florida, notably the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville -- Mizzou fans around the state might have shared a sigh of disappointment.
If Hall and the Tigers felt the same letdown, it didn't last long.
"It would be nice to go somewhere warm," Hall said Sunday. "I know it's going to be cold there. But other than that, it's OK. ... You make the most of it, man. You can't complain about it. The deal is the fans get to come there. It's going to be a home game for us. I'm expecting Mizzou to show up."
Mizzou officials hope the same. The opponent isn't the most exotic -- former Big 12 foe Oklahoma State (6-6) didn't become bowl eligible until the second-to-last week of the regular season and just played Mizzou in the Cotton Bowl after the 2013 season -- and the location won't offer a warm escape from chilly Missouri weather. But the proximity is a plus, just a four-hour drive from St. Louis.
Mizzou has sometimes struggled to sell its ticket allotment for mid-tier bowl games, which can hurt the program's chances to draw more attractive bowl games in the future. Last year, MU sold approximately 4,000 of its 8,000 allotted tickets to the Texas Bowl in Houston. Mizzou's allotment is again 8,000 for the Liberty Bowl, with ticket prices set at $85 and $95 through the team's inventory. Kickoff is 1:45 p.m. central time on ESPN.
"We really need to have a great showing," Missouri athletics director Jim Sterk said. "It's important for the bowls to see that Mizzou shows up for postseason. ... Obviously that was one of the reasons the Liberty Bowl really wanted us to come, because we can bring a great contingent there and have a good economic impact on the city of Memphis when it's a slow time."
As the bowl matchmaking process unfolded, Missouri was certain to land in one of the six bowls assigned by the SEC. The league office consults with the bowls with feedback from the schools and decides which SEC teams are best suited for which bowl based on multiple factors, including matchups and proximity. Once the league landed four teams in the "New Year's Six" bowls -- Alabama in the Orange, Georgia in the Sugar, Florida in the Peach and Louisiana State in the Fiesta -- the Citrus Bowl had first choice of SEC teams and picked Kentucky to play against Penn State.
From there, the SEC decided the "Pool of Six" participants. The two Florida bowls landed 8-4 teams from the SEC West: Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl against Iowa and Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl against North Carolina State. There was some thought among Mizzou officials that the Tigers could head to Jacksonville, but only if the Outback Bowl was paired with Texas A&M -- because Mississippi State played in the Gator last year. But late last week, Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett made it brazenly clear in several interviews that his game only wanted Texas A&M or South Carolina from the SEC.
With Texas A&M headed to Jacksonville, South Carolina (7-5) instead stays close to home in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C, where it faces Virginia. The Texas Bowl was never an option for the Tigers after they played there last year. Instead, Vanderbilt heads to Houston to play Baylor.
That left the two Tennessee bowls for the Tigers. The Music City Bowl in Nashville locked into Purdue as its Big Ten team -- and the Tigers and Boilermakers just played during the regular season in September. Rather than slow ticket sales and stale TV ratings with a rematch, the SEC placed Auburn (7-5) in the Music City.
Asked if concerns about Mizzou ticket sales impacted the SEC's decision to keep Missouri out of the Florida bowls, Sterk said that was never discussed with the league.
"Nothing was said, but I just know from history and being around a few years it's important for the bowls to see that there's a great fan base," Sterk said. "This is a really unique and good opportunity to really show what Mizzou can do."
For Odom, Memphis is a familiar destination. He coached his home games at the Liberty Bowl from 2012-14 when he served as defensive coordinator at the University of Memphis. As a native of Ada, Okla., he's especially familiar with Oklahoma State's program and longtime Cowboys coach Mike Gundy. Odom's nephew, Baron Odom, is a redshirt freshman tight end at OSU.
From the time the pairing became official Sunday to when he met with reporters in the evening, Odom had already watched two Oklahoma State games on film.
"They're explosive on offense and they're well-coached," Odom said. Gundy "has done it at a high level for a long time. He'll have them ready to go play."
Gundy, coaching in his 13th bowl in 14 seasons at OSU, doesn't know Odom well but has followed his career as a fellow Oklahoman.
"I've heard great things," Gundy said Sunday. "He's not going to get the point of being the head coach at Missouri without doing things the right way. They've done really well and it's obvious with their season. They've lost to No. 1 (Alabama), No. 5 (Georgia) and No. 12 (Kentucky) and South Carolina. They've done great things, come a long way. We'll have our hands full."
As for the Tigers, they've got four weeks to prepare for a matchup they might not have expected after closing the season with four straight wins. But if they approach this one like they did the last four, Odom expects a productive business trip to Memphis.
"People are kind of bashing this bowl (saying), 'We wanted this one or whatever,'" senior right tackle Paul Adams said. "But it's like, you know what, right now, it's 19 seniors that are playing for each other, one last time, and let that flow through the rest of the team so it's 117 playing for each other. I think that's going to be the most fun about it.
"Whatever it takes to win that game, that's what we're going to do for each other."