By Michael Kinney
When the 2008 season began, Missouri’s Chase Daniel was the talk of the Big 12. He was the preseason offensive player of the year in the conference and among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy.
But, much like his Tigers, Daniel was eclipsed by the competition coming out of the South Division. Despite throwing for 3,880 yards and 34 touchdowns, the likes of Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Texas’ Colt McCoy and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell are now the center of discussion while Daniel and his Tigers have taken a backseat.
Daniel, though, will be back in the spotlight for at least a day when No. 20 Missouri (9-3, 5-3 Big 12) takes on No. 2 Oklahoma (11-1, 7-1) Saturday in the Big 12 Championship. The Southlake, Texas, native will not only have an opportunity to end his career with a conference title, but also shape the national title hunt.
“It just means that we reached all of our goals this year that we set out to reach,” Daniel said. “Exactly like Coach (Gary) Pinkel said, our goal from day one was to win the Big 12 North championship and play for the Big 12 Championship. And that’s exactly what we’re doing. Also, our goal is to win a Big 12 Championship. We’ve put ourselves in the position to do so. It doesn’t matter what our record is. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past. All that matters is from here on out.”
If the Tigers win, they will knock Oklahoma out of the BCS championship game.
It’s the same scenario Missouri was in last season, except the situation was reversed. The Tigers were undefeated and ranked No. 1. The ninth-ranked Sooners throttled them 38-17, ending their national title dreams.
Missouri hasn’t forgotten.
“I think any time you have an opportunity like this, it’s great,” Pinkel said. “Not many people give us a chance. This is awesome. This is what you’re in it for. I’m excited about it and my team’s excited about it. I have a great respect for them. We’ll get ready to play.”
While the Tigers were run over by the Sooners last season, they’re hoping Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium will even out whatever advantage Oklahoma comes into the game with.
“I think there should be a lot of Mizzou people,” Daniel said. “It’s in their home state and it’s two hours from Columbia. But OU travels well wherever they go. So I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 50/50. Would I love for it to be 70/30 Mizzou? Sure.
“Does it have a chance to be that way? Yeah. It’s about the fans. I know they want to see us go out on top and this is their chance, so we hope there’s a lot of Mizzou fans out there.”
Arrowhead, which seats 77,038, has not always been kind to OU. In 2003, ranked No. 1, the Sooners fell 35-7 at the Big 12 title game against Kansas State.
Amidst controversy, OU still reached the national title game, where it lost its second straight game, to LSU at the Sugar Bowl.
But Daniel isn’t looking to play spoiler. He just wants to go out a winner.
“We’re not necessarily (playing with) a chip,” Daniel said. “We just want respect and it’s not going to be given to us so we just need to go out there and do it.”
Michael Kinney
366-3537
mkinney@normantranscript.com
