Missouri officially knows where it is headed in the postseason with the announcement Sunday that the Tigers will face Wake Forest in the Gasparilla Bowl after finishing the season with a 6-6 overall record.

Missouri officially became bowl-eligible by the skin of its teeth, winning its season finale against Arkansas, 29-27. The Tigers’ defense has largely been stout this season, but the offense has had its ups and downs.

The Tigers will need to play solid, complementary football in order to come out with the victory against Wake Forest (7-5) and its “Clawfense,” named in reference to head coach Dave Clawson.

Here’s a look at 3 things to keep an eye on for the matchup between SEC and ACC teams on Dec. 23 in Tampa:

1. Play-calling on the right note

While Missouri rolled early on and impressed with the things it was able to accomplish on trick plays that standout freshman wide receiver Luther Burden has been so good on, we didn’t always see those put to use in games where it seemed like it could have helped, like the baffling offensive collapse in the 40-12 loss to Kansas State.

The Tigers have talent on that side of the ball outside of Burden, despite having a quarterback who is still developing and entered the season as a largely inexperienced player. But the plays being called seemed to set the unit back some. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz said during the season that he was open to assigning play-calling duties, and he eventually did in the final 3 contests, allowing quarterbacks coach Bush Hamdan to call the plays.

There was improvement that was quite blatant to see, as the Tigers scored a combined 98 points over that span, 24 of which came against Tennessee and 29 more that came against Arkansas.

If that trend can continue, it could make a huge difference not only for the upcoming bowl game, but for a team that was a whole combined 18 points away from a 10-2 record in 2022. It is easier to believe that record had a much better chance of coming to fruition if the offense had been better earlier in the season.

2. A solid defense that has the chance to impress again

Missouri’s defense stuck around near the top of the rankings all season long, but hardly anyone paid it a wealth of attention because of how overshadowed its success was by the Tigers’ offensive failures or the fact that it did eventually falter at times out of pure exhaustion.

Defensive lineman Isaiah McGuire was the biggest standout of many, finishing the season with 39 total tackles (24 solo), 7 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. The Mizzou pass rush was notable in several games and there’s no question — as reflected in the stat line — that McGuire shared a piece of that with his number of quarterback takedowns.

Missouri finished with the 28th-ranked defense in the nation, allowing an average of 5.26 yards per play and 337.1 yards per game.

3. Going up against Sam Hartman

The Wake Forest quarterback experienced a meteoric rise in the midst of the 2021 season, going from a player who hardly anyone talked about to a potential 1st-round draft pick despite falling off toward the tail end of the year. But one of the most unfortunate stories in college football at the beginning of this season was Hartman temporarily being sidelined with non-football-related issues.

He was able to reemerge though and join the team during the season. Hartman finished the year with a 63% completion rate, passing for 3,421 yards with 35 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on 392 passing attempts. He added 114 yards on the ground and 1 rushing touchdown.

Hartman has been projected as a solid, dual-threat quarterback throughout the entirety of his collegiate career and ended the season on a high note, slicing through Syracuse 1 week before the Demon Deacons lost to Duke. He still passed for at least 300 yards in the last 4 games of the season.