Tigers face steep climb to salvage successful season

The easiest path to the Big 12 Championship game is to win out

By Nick Forrester

Published Oct. 24, 2008

Two weeks ago, everything was set for Missouri to make a run at the National Championship. The team was undefeated, had the leading Heisman Trophy candidate, was coming off its first win at Nebraska in 30 years and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the country.

Now the Tigers are trying to rebound after their second straight loss, a 56-31 stomping at the hands of Texas. The National Championship game is a near impossibility now, and what looked like such a successful season is now a possible disappointment.

"I guarantee that I'm not going to feel like that again and neither are my teammates," senior defensive tackle Jared Baston said about the Texas game. "Right now, it's a hunger feeling. Everybody wants to win, everybody feels like we need to win. We're not going to get down, feel disappointed or feel sorry for ourselves."

The challenge now for Missouri is not about how to get to Miami on Jan. 8. Instead, it's how to still win the Big 12 North title and hope for a good bowl game.

The ideal situation for Missouri is that it wins out. That would include wins against Big 12 North opponents Colorado, Kansas State, Iowa State and Kansas. The Tigers would then face the winner of the Big 12 South Division on Dec. 6 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Big 12 South winner will most likely be the winner of Saturday's Texas vs. Oklahoma State game.

If Missouri wins the Big 12 Championship, then it will be guaranteed a Bowl Championship Series bowl game. If Missouri loses in the Big 12 Championship, then it will most likely either make a return trip to the Cotton Bowl or go to the Holiday Bowl.

"The team goals are friggin' out the window right now," senior quarterback Chase Daniel said. "It's do or die time."

If Missouri loses another game this season, the Tigers will need some luck in order to make the Big 12 Championship. A loss would also most likely send the Tigers to either the Alamo Bowl or Insight Bowl.

"All we're really focused on is just taking it one game at a time right now," senior receiver Tommy Saunders said. "We're just really trying to get better this week, and just really focus on the game plan that the coaches have given us for this week and really just play as hard as we can against Colorado."

Even though the National Championship game is out of reach, Missouri still has a lot to play for and is looking to its leaders to get the job done.

"I think it definitely falls on the captains and the seniors on the team," Daniel said. "The coaches can only do so much, and they are doing a heck of a job getting us ready to play. It falls on the players. We've got to play better. We've got to execute better on offense, on defense, on special teams, every facet of the game. We have to go out there and play our A-game, which we haven't the past two weeks."