The Missouri Tigers still have a chance to play in a BCS bowl. The Tigers would lock up a Fiesta Bowl bid if they were to win the Big 12 Championship game. But if that doesn't happen, Missouri seems likely headed for San Diego, Jacksonville or San Antonio. Here is a quick look at the possibities for Mizzou's post-season destination.


Holiday Bowl: Two Big 12 teams will go to the BCS. The Cotton Bowl will likely take the odd man out between Texas, Oklahoma and Tech. Next in the pecking order is the Holiday Bowl, which seems likely to have a choice between Oklahoma State and Missouri (if the Cowboys don't upset Oklahoma).


“Missouri is in the picture, no question,” said Bruce Binkowski, Executive Director of the Holiday Bowl. “If we were to narrow it down, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, they're all still somehow or another in our picture.”


Binkowski did say that head-to-head results are a major factor in consideration. The Cowboys beat the Tigers 28-23 earlier this season in Columbia and would seem likely to have the edge. The opponent in the Holiday Bowl is a PAC-10 team. USC is likely headed to the BCS, as is Oregon State if the Beavers win their final two games. Cal and Oregon are strong possibilities in that scenario with the Beavers available if they lose to either Arizona or Oregon.


Gator Bowl: The Gator Bowl has to take a Big 12 team two times in four years. They had Texas Tech last year, so they are not obligated to take a Big 12 team for the game. If the Gator Bowl does not select a Big 12 team this year, they will have to do so next season.


If the Gator does go the Big 12 route, the Tigers seem to be a strong possibility.


“Obviously they have won their division, they get an opportunity to play for a championship, they have had a couple years now where they've really been good and playing at the top. Any bowl game would very pleased to take a look at Missouri and the Big 12 in general because the teams in that conference are playing at the very top,” Rick Catlett, President of the Gator Bowl Association, said. “The key is how many teams they put in the BCS. Our selection process is changed greatly when that happens. One would expect if Missouri is available and they have two in (the BCS), we would be shocked if Missouri is even available there for us to select.”


The opponent in the Gator Bowl would be an ACC team. At this point, that conference is so jumbled, it's tough to make any sort of an accurate guess as to which team might end up in Jacksonville. The league champion will play in the BCS and the Chick-fil-a Bowl has second choice. Maryland, Florida State, Wake Forest, Boston College, Miami, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech all stand either 6-4 or 7-3 and could all still win the league title. The ACC team in the Gator will come from this pool, but it's impossible to project who lands where. This is where the matchups come in. Catlett threw out a couple of examples.


“If you get a Georgia Tech in your game, and you've got Notre Dame, that's one of the oldest rivalries in college football,” Catlett said. “Then you've got Florida State and Florida State-Nebraska is attractive because that was a national championship game.”


The Irish seem to be a major factor in this discussion. If they beat Syracuse and lose to USC, as most project, the Irish are sitting 7-and-5. They don't have the overall resume of a Missouri, or even a Nebraska, but they are Notre Dame.


“Obviously, Notre Dame is Notre Dame and they have the national image that they've had for years and years and years,” Catlett said. “Whether you like it or don't like it, it's a fact.”


West Virginia and Pittsburgh could also figure in. The Gator Bowl can take a Big East team rather than the Irish or a Big 12 team. Both the Mountaineers and Panthers could win at least nine games, but the Big East has no chance to put two teams in the BCS.


Alamo Bowl: If the Holiday and Gator select teams other than the Tigers, it would be very surprising to see Missouri slip past the game in San Antonio.


“Obviously they're led by Heisman candidate, we hosted them for the Big 12 championship game on a week's notice and thought they traveled well here,” said Rick Hill, the Marketing Director for the Alamo Bowl. “The good thing in talking to Missouri is they have been very proactive in getting feedback from their fans and that's very helpful for us.”


In the possible scenarios, the Alamo Bowl would likely have a choice between Missouri and Nebraska, and be faced with a similar situation as the Gator Bowl in choosing between those teams.


The Alamo Bowl would pit the Tigers against the Big Ten's third place non-BCS team. Penn State, Michigan State and Ohio State are all mathematically alive for BCS spots. The league champ (probably either Penn State or Ohio State based on this weekend's game between Michigan State and the Nittany Lions) is headed to the Rose Bowl. If Penn State ends up in that game, Ohio State is a strong possibility for a BCS at-large bid. If the Buckeyes get that, Michigan State would go to the Capital One bowl. If not, OSU goes to the Capital One and Michigan State to the Outback. The Alamo selects next.


“Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin are the ones we are most focused on,” Hill said.


Of course, none of this matters if the Tigers pull an upset in Arrowhead on December 6th.


“This has been a crazy year and Missouri could very well win the Big 12 title game,” Binkowski said. “That changes everything.”


Gabe DeArmond is the publisher of PowerMizzou.com. You can read more of his coverage of the Tigers online at http://missouri.rivals.com.