The Missouri Tigers and Minnesota Golden Gophers collide in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 1 in the Citrus Bowl.

Both squads are coming off surprisingly successful seasons and hope to end their season on a high note with a January bowl victory.

SDS spoke with Josh Stephens of Gophers247 to get the Minnesota perspective heading into the bowl matchup. He shares with us his thoughts on how he believes Minnesota will fare against Markus Golden and company as well as giving us his prediction on the winner.

Drew Laing: Can Minnesota stop Markus Golden and Shane Ray?

Josh Stephens: They can’t stop them, but they can slow them down. They’re both great pass rushers and really fun to watch when they get to pin their ears back and just go after the passer. The problem with that is that Minnesota isn’t going to be passing the ball that much, which will limit their opportunities to wreak havoc on Mitch Leidner. It’s not secret what Minnesota’s going to do. It’s just another team from the upper Midwest that has to play the style of a physical run game, causing turnovers and controlling the time of possession to win games. They’ll come out and run the ball, run the ball and run the ball some more.

The bottom line for me is if this becomes a game where Minnesota is having to pass quite a bit, then the Gophers have bigger problems going on than worrying about stopping those two.

Laing: Maxx Williams is a standout tight end and an All-American this year, but most SEC fans probably don’t know much about him. What makes him so good?

Stephens: Williams is about as close to the total package at tight end as you’ll find. He has all the physical traits you’d want. He has the legitimate size at 6-foot-4, 250-pounds. He combines power and speed as well.

He’s a physical guy that has the toughness and strength you want to play in a league like the Big Ten and really had a much better year in the blocking department this season than last, something that I think a lot of people didn’t notice because it isn’t something that jumps out to the average fan. He just possesses great athletic ability as well. His balance and hand-eye coordination is incredible.

He can run about as well as anyone his size and has an impressive vertical leap, too. He’s a true matchup night mare for opposing defenses, being too big for safeties and too mobile for linebackers. More than anything, Williams just has that “it” factor.

Laing: With a bowl victory, Minnesota would finish with a 9-win season. Was that kind of success expected heading into the year or did it kind of come as a surprise to fans?

Stephens: I don’t think it’ll be much of a surprise to the Gopher fan base. I’d say the average amount of wins predicted by the local media who actually follows the team and the intense Gopher fans was eight (which may or may not have included the bowl game) before the seasons started. And wouldn’t you know, they actually ended up with eight wins. Some of the wins and losses came from different spots than expected but I’d say that this isn’t much of a surprise.

Laing: Both coaches — Gary Pinkel and Jerry Kill — are among the most underrated coaches in their respective conferences (and were both coaches of the year). How has Kill been able to turn things around at Minnesota after a rocky first two seasons?

Stephens: His first two seasons weren’t great from a win standpoint. No one will question that but he also was thrown into a situation from the previous regime that left a pretty depleted roster. It’s used all the time when a new coach comes in, but it was true: he was basically left with an empty cupboard.

Here’s the thing: Minnesota is not a national power or even a conference power. They haven’t been since before my parents were born. A program like Minnesota is not going to be built overnight, nor is it going to be a quick turnaround, either. Minnesota will never be a school landing highly rated recruits unless they are from the state or have some tie here.

Off the field, it’s a program that needs to be built on identifying under the radar talent, coaching them up and finding individual pieces that fit roles well. It’s about building with a set formula and maximizing each guy’s skill set in specific ways. Star rankings are fun to look at but they aren’t everything.

Minnesota has ranked near the bottom of the Big Ten in recruiting rankings under Kill, yet continue to get better. 30 percent of the 44 guys in the Gopher two deeps this season had only one power conference offer, which was Minnesota. Kill and his staff really understand this whole concept and have bought into that formula, a system that I truly believe is the way for Minnesota to be successful.

It’s not exciting or flashy, but it will get results. This has already been evidenced by the first few years of the Kill regime and Gopher fans hope that it continues to build.

Laing: What’s your Citrus Bowl prediction?

Stephens: I think it’s an interesting matchup between two teams that outside of their own fan bases, weren’t given much of a chance by the experts to end up in a New Year’s Day bowl game. It’s a game of contrasting styles too, which I always personally enjoy watching.

You have two teams that have some strengths that bode well against the other’s weaknesses. For example, it’s no secret that Minnesota will pound the rock right at the Tigers, a power run game that they haven’t had much success stopping or slowing down this year. On the other hand, it’s become a cliche (a much-hated one by us up in Big Ten country), but it’s true: Missouri just has the team speed that the Gophers don’t have.

In the end, I think it’ll be a close one and I’m excited to watch. As for the actual prediction, I’ll be a homer and take Minnesota 27-20. I think their offense will be able to wear down Missouri and the Gophers will be able to win the turnover margin against the Tigers, helping secure a game that will be decided in the final few minutes.