Citrus Bowl 2014: Breaking Down Keys to Victory in Missouri vs. Minnesota Game
This is nice.
A bowl game at a truly neutral site where neither team will have a built-in advantage. The Florida Citrus Bowl will be played on New Year's Day in Orlando, Florida. It's far away from the campuses of the Missouri Tigers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Ideally, this is the way bowl games should be set up.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
All that said, the early word suggests that the Golden Gophers fans might be traveling a little better than Missouri's. Per Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press, Gophers head coach Jerry Kill said this about fan interest in the game:
It was 12 degrees in Minneapolis on Wednesday, and the high is 25 on New Year's Day. Gophers fans are happy to have an excuse to travel to Florida to escape the cold. The fan interest will be big, but the chess match from the sidelines is also compelling.
Seeing these two teams led by top-notch head coaches, Gary Pinkel and Kill, is great. Both programs are attempting to establish themselves on different levels. Missouri is still trying to sustain long-term respect in the SEC, and Kill talked about how big a win this would be for the rebuilding foundation of Golden Gophers football.
Per Odds Shark, the Tigers are a 6.5-point favorite, but the game won't be played in Las Vegas, literally or figuratively. Each team has areas to focus on if it hopes to be victorious. Here are the biggest keys for the Tigers and Golden Gophers.
Minnesota: Run the Football Effectively
When teams have beaten Missouri this season, they have done it by running right at them. In the three defeats Missouri has had, the opposition racked up an average of 231 yards per game on the ground. In wins, Mizzou's defense only allowed 106.
The Golden Gophers happen to have one of the most underrated running backs in the nation in David Cobb. On the season, the 5'11" senior ran for 1,548 yards and 12 touchdowns.
If he and his offensive line can deliver against Missouri, this one could get really interesting.
Missouri: Pressure Without Blitzing
Stopping the run and maintaining balance on defense will be much easier for the Tigers if they don't have to blitz to get pressure on Mitch Leidner. Minnesota has a pretty one-dimensional attack.
Leidner has thrown almost as many picks (8) as he has touchdown passes (10). The only way he can hurt Missouri with his arm is if he's given a great deal of time to throw. The much-maligned quarterback had to delete his Twitter account, per Joe Christensen of the (Minnesota) Star-Tribune, to escape verbal abuse from overzealous fans.
The pressure from the Tigers defensive line could be even worse than the heat from angry Gophers fans.
Shane Ray and Markus Golden will be tasked with winning their matchups at the line of scrimmage to further squash the miniature Minnesota passing game. If the duo has their way, Leidner's haters will have more ammunition for their criticism.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
