Tigers look to clinch Big 12 North

Recent trips to Ames, Iowa, have been troublesome for the Tigers.

By Nick Forrester

Published Nov. 13, 2008

The path to the Big 12 Championship is now clear for Missouri: Beat Iowa State on Saturday and hope Kansas doesn't upset No. 3 Texas. If both happen, then MU will repeat as Big 12 North Division champions.

"I think anytime you can clinch a division title you want to take it right off the bat," senior quarterback Chase Daniel said. "Of course, we're going to like to get it done this weekend. It's a great opportunity for us and hopefully Texas can take care of business and we can too."

The path might seem clear, but past trips to Ames, Iowa, indicate that it will not necessarily be easy. Lately Ames has been a place where Missouri struggles, largely due to the frigid cold temperatures this time of the year. The last three games in Ames have all been decided by seven points or less.

"I watched some Iowa State film, and those guys are a physical football team," junior linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said. "It's going to be cold out there, so we've got to focus up mentally for that. We've just got to keep ourselves fired up because we know they're going to be fighting. They're going to be ready to play us."

Iowa State has struggled all season, ranking no higher than 10th in the Big 12 in any major category. The Cyclones have yet to win a Big 12 game, and their two non-conference wins came against lackluster teams, South Dakota State and Kent State, in the first two games of the season.

Iowa State is led by senior wide receiver R.J. Sumrall. So far this season, Sumrall has been sophomore quarterback Austen Arnaud's favorite target. Sumrall has 44 receptions for 608 yards and five touchdowns.

Even though Iowa State has struggled this season, that is no indication of how it plays against Missouri. The last trip up to Ames is one Daniel and the rest of the Tigers would like to forget. The situation was similar to this year's game, with a struggling Iowa State trying to win a game on Senior Day against a heavily favored, Daniel-led Missouri team. With 26 seconds remaining, Missouri was about to score with the ball on the Iowa State 1-yard line. Daniel ran in for the score to take the lead, but the play was called back for a holding penalty. On the final play, Daniel was sacked. Final score: Iowa State 21, Missouri 16.

"You're going to remember that," Daniel said. "It's not something that you're just not going to remember. But that was two years ago. They beat us fair and square. We can't go back and say, we should have won this game. We just got beat. You can't change it now. You can't do anything different about it. We've got to play better. If we had played better, it wouldn't have come down to that. We've got to take care of business."

If Missouri is unable to clinch the North Division this weekend, the title will come down to the season's final game against Kansas on Nov. 29 at Arrowhead Stadium.