GAME NOTES: The Missouri Tigers of the Big 12 Conference and the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten are set to collide in this year's Alamo Bowl. This game will be played in San Antonio at the Alamodome, a 65,000-seat venue.

Missouri is appearing in a bowl game for the fourth straight year, as Gary Pinkel has done a tremendous job of resurrecting the program. The Tigers were expected to contend for a national title this season, and it certainly appeared that they would live up to the preseason hype after winning the first five games, including four blowouts. Unfortunately, they fell to Oklahoma State and Texas in back-to-back weeks and later lost to Kansas to close out the regular season with a 9-3 record. Missouri did earn a spot in the Big 12 title game by winning the rather weak North Division, but a meeting with powerhouse Oklahoma resulted in a 62-21 beating. Considering that the Tigers enter this Alamo Bowl with a two-game losing skid, it will be interesting to see if their confidence has been shaken.

As for Northwestern, it earned a spot in this bowl game by winning nine games during the regular season, the third campaign of nine or more wins for the program since 1995. The Wildcats finished fourth in the Big Ten standings with a 5-3 record under the guidance of head coach Pat Fitzgerald, who was a star linebacker for the school during his playing days.

"We're extremely proud of our football team, which enjoyed one of the best regular seasons in Northwestern history," said Pat Fitzgerald upon learning of the Alamo Bowl bid.

"Pat has done a great job building Northwestern's program in a short amount of time," said coach Pinkel of his counterpart in this tilt.

The Wildcats haven't won a bowl game since 1949, so there is an obvious goal present for the players and coaches.

Missouri and Northwestern have split their eight previous meetings, the most recent of which took place in 1987.

Missouri is loaded offensively, as there are star players at every position. The Tigers are averaging 43.2 ppg and 497.5 total ypg, impressive numbers by any standard. Chase Daniel is the leader of the offense from his quarterback position, and while he fell out of the Heisman race after a few shaky performances, Daniel still carries 37 touchdown passes into the Alamo Bowl. He has completed 74 percent of his passes for 4,135 yards and is capable of making plays as a runner as well. Daniel is fortunate to have a pair of First- Team All-Americans to throw the ball to in Jeremy Maclin and Chase Coffman. Maclin has caught 95 passes for 1,221 yards and 12 touchdowns, and he has also rushed for 250 yards and two scores. The nation's leader in all-purpose yards, Maclin returns both kickoffs and punts successfully. As for Coffman, he recently won the Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end after hauling in 83 receptions for 920 yards and 10 scores in only 11 games. Derrick Washington is the team's top tailback, as he has rushed for 992 yards and 17 touchdowns, despite carrying the ball only 162 times.

While Missouri is yielding 27.5 ppg and 414.2 total ypg, it is important to remember that the team faced some outstanding Big 12 offenses during the regular season. Still, the defense can be described as mediocre. The Tigers can take some pride in the fact that they are yielding just 3.6 rushing yards per carry. They have allowed 19 rushing touchdowns and 26 passing scores to opposing offenses. With 21 takeaways and 28 sacks, the club has done a solid job of making big plays, although those totals are unlikely to scare Northwestern. There are a few standout performers for the Missouri defense who deserve special recognition. First, Sean Weatherspoon leads the team with 138 total tackles, including 16 TFLs. He has also intercepted three passes and forced a pair of fumbles. Stryker Sulak has recorded 13 TFLs, including 8.5 sacks. After the loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game, Weatherspoon was asked to look forward to the bowl game.

"Missouri's never won 10 games in back-to-back seasons," said Weatherspoon. "Our goal is to go out there and whatever bowl game we get, no matter which one we get, we go out there and get the win."

The Northwestern offense isn't nearly as good as the unit of Missouri, as the Wildcats are averaging a modest 24.5 ppg and 357.0 total ypg. They are gaining 3.9 yards per rushing attempt and 10.0 yards per pass completion, numbers that are mediocre by all accounts. It remains to be seen if standout tailback Tyrell Sutton will be healthy enough to place in this bowl game, and his availability figures to have a huge impact on the outcome. Sutton, who has an injured wrist that caused him to miss time at the end of the regular season, has rushed for 776 yards and six touchdowns in only eight games. If Sutton can't play, added pressure will fall on the arm and legs of quarterback C.J. Bacher. As a passer, Bacher has completed 59.7 percent of his attempts for 2,128 yards and 14 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. He has also rushed for 263 yards and three scores, proof of his versatility.

"Were just excited about the opportunity in front of us and we couldnt be happier with where we are at this point, said Bacher of the Alamo Bowl berth.

The top receivers in the mix are Ross Lane, Eric Peterman and Rasheed Ward, all of whom have proven capable of being significant contributors.

Pat Fitzgerald was an All-American defender, and his aggressive mentality has certainly rubbed off on the players that he coaches. Northwestern is only allowing 19.3 ppg and 343.0 total ypg, but holding Missouri to those averages will be exceptionally difficult to say the least. The Wildcats are permitting only 3.6 rushing yards per carry and 127.7 rushing yards per game. The pass defense has been solid as well, yielding a mere 11 touchdowns this season. With 33 sacks to their credit, the Wildcats have done an outstanding job of pressuring the opposing quarterback. Brad Phillips leads Northwestern with 101 total tackles, and he has a pair of interceptions to his credit to go along with two forced fumbles. Corey Wootton checks in with 15 TFLs, and he has nine sacks to his credit. Those two players will be counted on to slow down the explosive Tigers.

While Northwestern will play hard in this game and keep things close, Missouri is far too explosive to be held in check. Expect the Tigers to bounce back strong from the two most recent losses and close out the campaign in style.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Missouri 34, Northwestern 20