By Seth Herrold
On Wednesday night, ESPNU ran a replay of the Missouri Tigers’ electrifying upset of Oklahoma at Faurot Field last year. That was a memorable night for me and Missouri fans everywhere. I have a piece of the goalpost from that game sitting on a shelf at home as a constant reminder of one of the biggest wins in the history of the Pinkel era at Mizzou. See ing the replay on ESPNU did more than bring up some happy memories. It got me excited for the upcoming season. It got me looking at the new Big 12. It got me thinking about all the possibilities for the Tigers in 2011.
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If that game last season did anything for anyone, it made Missouri realize that Oklahoma was human. That’s no small task either. With seven Big 12 titles in the conference’s 15-year history, including five in the past seven years, the Sooners are hands down the giants of the conference. Two lopsided losses to the Sooners in the Big 12 title game by the Tigers only made Oklahoma appear all the more unbeatable. Oklahoma holds a 62-25-5 advantage in the all-time series and prior to last season the Tigers hadn’t defeated the Sooners since 1998.
Then, in 2010, it happened. The Tigers stunned the Sooners, the nation and even some of their own fans with a Homecoming victory for the ages. Suddenly this unbeatable giant appeared to have a weakness.
I’m not saying Missouri should beat Oklahoma this year; it would take another big upset. But we know Mizzou is capable of such a win now. If the Tigers do somehow knock off the pre-season conference favorite in that first week of Big 12 play, everything will look easier. Oklahoma is far from the only good team in the Big 12. Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Texas are all ranked in Athlon Sports pre-season top 25 (Missouri is 25th in that poll). The Big 12 may be a weak conference in terms of its ability to keep teams, but it’s a powerful conference in terms of the teams playing in it. If the Tigers do get past Oklahoma on the road in Norman, however, they will have their toughest test behind them.
I’m not going to sit here and write that the Tigers should win a conference title this year. I will, however, say that they have a shot. I’m going to predict no team in the Big 12 goes undefeated this year; no, not even Oklahoma. There are too many good teams for any one squad to run the tables this year. With that kind of outlook, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Texas and yes, Missouri, should all consider a Big 12 title a possibility in 2011.
There was a time when I said without the divisions and a conference title game, Missouri had no hope of ever winning a conference championship. I am retracting that statement. This could be, well it probably is, just the emotions created from watching last year’s Missouri-Oklahoma game talking.
The Tigers don’t have Blaine Gabbert back under center, they don’t have Elvis Fisher anchoring the offensive line, they don’t have Aldon Smith anchoring the defensive line. But what they do have is a shot. In a wild year of college football in the Big 12 Conference, a shot is all you need.