Missouri Tigers will play Wake Forest in Gasparilla Bowl. Here are the details

Missouri will meet Wake Forest in the Gasparilla Bowl on Dec. 23 in Tampa, Fla. It will be the first meeting between the programs. Kickoff is 5:30 p.m. (Central).

A bowl game was assured for the Tigers (6-6) when they defeated Arkansas in their final game.

The Demon Deacons (7-5) got off to a fast start to the season, winning six of their first seven games and climbing to No. 10 in the AP poll. But Wake Forest dropped four of its final five and ended the regular season with loss to Duke.

“Really excited to be headed to Tampa to face Wake Forest in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl,” MU coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a news release from the Missouri athletic department. “We are looking forward to having one more game with our 2022 team.

“They (the Tigers) worked their tails off to get here and deserve the reward of a bowl trip. We were on the practice fields today and I was really impressed by the energy out there. We will keep preparing, finish off recruiting, finals week and then saddle up and get ready to match up with Coach Clawson and the Demon Deacons in Tampa.”

The Gasparilla Bowl is played at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and will be televised by ESPN.

The game sets up as a high-powered offense against a stout defense. Wake Forest ranks 16th in scoring at 36.8 points per game and is led by quarterback Sam Hartman, who is tied for fifth nationally with 35 touchdown passes.

Missouri has the nation’s No. 28-ranked defense, yielding 337.1 yards per game.

“Hosting two outstanding teams and the first-ever SEC vs. ACC matchup in our bowl game history is special,” Gasparilla Bowl executive director Scott Glaser said in a statement. “These teams will undoubtedly create an electric atmosphere for students, alums, and local football fans.”

There had been some speculation that the Tigers might meet Kansas in their postseason game. That did not materialize; the spot that might have created that matchup instead went to Missouri’s border rival to the south.

The Jayhawks will still be playing a Southeastern Conference opponent, and one very familiar to Tigers fans: KU meets the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 28 in Memphis.