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Missouri faces Oklahoma in Big 12 championship

Dec 1, 2007 - 11:30 AM No. 9 Oklahoma (10-2) at No. 1 Missouri (11-1) 8:00 pm EST

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) - If Chase Daniel and Missouri want to compete for the national title for the first time in school history, they will have to knock off their nemesis.

Daniel and the top-ranked Tigers aim for a berth in the Bowl Championship Series title game Saturday night when they take on No. 9 Oklahoma in the Big 12 Conference championship game.

Missouri (11-1, 7-1 Big 12 North) climbed to the No. 1 spot in the rankings Sunday following a thrilling 36-28 victory over then-No. 2 Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium.

The win, coupled with then-No. 1 Louisiana State's 50-48 triple-overtime loss to Arkansas on Friday, also vaulted Missouri to the top of the BCS standings.

A victory Saturday over the Sooners would send the Tigers to the BCS title game at the Louisiana Superdome on January 7.

But before Missouri books its tickets for New Orleans, it will have to win its first conference title since 1969, when the Tigers won the Big Eight. Missouri has never even appeared in a Big 12 title game since the conference's creation in 1996.

Missouri will be faced with the task of beating Oklahoma (10-2, 6-2 Big 12 South), which has won the last five overall meetings between the conference rivals and handed the Tigers their only loss of the season - a 41-31 decision in Norman on October 13.

Daniel struggled through his worst performance of the season in that contest, tossing two interceptions and losing a fumble as the Tigers squandered a fourth-quarter lead.

But overall, Daniel has been one of the country's top players this season and enters Saturday's showdown with a completion percentage of 70.5, 3,951 passing yards and 33 touchdowns.

Daniel was brilliant against the Jayhawks' second-ranked defense last Saturday, completing 40-of-49 passes for 361 yards and three TDs.

Oklahoma also is coming off a win in a rivalry game - Saturday's 49-17 thrashing of Oklahoma State.

It marks the sixth time in the last eight seasons that the Sooners will play in the Big 12 title game. Oklahoma has won a league-best four conference titles.

Sam Bradford returned from a concussion suffered the previous week to toss four TDs for Oklahoma on Saturday. A redshirt freshman, Bradford has thrown for 32 TDs this season - an NCAA record for a freshman.

Bradford likely will need to deliver another outstanding performance for the Sooners, who will be without injured running back DeMarco Murray. The Sooners' leading rusher, Murray suffered a dislocated kneecap during a 34-27 loss to Texas Tech on November 17.