The last time the Missouri Tigers left the field, they did so with a bitter taste in their mouths, falling 42-13 to Alabama in their second consecutive Southeastern Conference Championship defeat.
They had to wait nearly four weeks, but the Tigers will get a chance to redeem themselves Thursday against Minnesota in the Citrus Bowl.
And they're more than ready for a game after spending eight days in Orlando.
"For sure," quarterback Maty Mauk said Tuesday after the team's final practice. "The main purpose we came down here for is to win this football game. Now we are in that 48-hour period where we are locked in and focused up. We understand that we came down here to have fun, we had fun and that stuff is over with.
"It's the lock-down period and we have to make sure we come out and play our best football game."
The game will be especially meaningful for two Tigers who played crucial roles in getting Missouri to 10 wins and an SEC East title this year.
Defensive coordinator Dave Steckel, whose players held conference opponents to fewer yards per SEC game than any other team in the conference, will be coaching his final game as a Tiger, as he will be the head coach at Missouri State next season.
"It hasn't hit me yet," Steckel said. "My emotions will probably come after the game. Right now the focus is the 48 hours that Maty talked about and sending players out with a win.
"When it's all over, you sit back and it might be a sigh of relief and then there might be some reminiscing, but until that you have to keep focus. I preach that to the players, but it is my job to stay focused as well."
It's been tough for him, as Steckel has been working for two schools the past few weeks.
"Well at first, the good Lord blessed me a little bit because we were in finals week," he said. "So I went from 7-5 (o'clock with Missouri) and then switched over at five o'clock when some people went home with their families, and went 5-11 with the other job. When I came down here (to Orlando), all that other stuff is past me now. My focus is on Missouri and having these seniors going out the right way."
Defensive end Shane Ray, who set a school record with 14 sacks this season, will likely forego his senior season for the NFL Draft, in which he is projected to be a first-rounder.
Ray said he doesn't remember when he realized he could be a Division I player.
"For me growing up, it was about trying to find a way to get to school," he said. "My mom had a plan and when that plan got set in place, that's when I started working hard to get better. And that's when things started happening.
"Mizzou was the first school to come give me an offer. I couldn't turn that down. I was able to come up here and I was lucky enough to have coaches who put up with me for a little bit and continue to work on me and my development. I am just blessed to be up here where I am today."
More than anything, though, Missouri (No. 16 College Football Playoff) hopes to end a successful - at times, improbably so - season with a win against Minnesota (No. 25 CFP).
The win would give the Tigers 11 on the year, a number they had never reached before getting 12 in 2007, which they matched last year. This season marks Missouri's fifth 10-win campaign in the last 10 years.
The Missouri defense, which allowed a season-worst 504 yards to Alabama, will be tested by the Minnesota rushing attack. The Golden Gophers averaged nearly 225 yards on the ground this season, good for 27th in the nation.
The Tigers will be without senior receiver Jimmie Hunt, who had six catches for 169 yards in the SEC Championship game. Hunt underwent shoulder surgery last week.
Missouri is 5-4 in bowl games during coach Gary Pinkel's tenure.
Kickoff for the game is set for noon.