GAME NOTES: The Missouri Tigers are the nation's top-ranked team for just the second time in program history, and they will earn the right to play for the national title if they can knock off the ninth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 Championship Game. This game is being played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Missouri and Oklahoma met in Norman during the regular season, and the Sooners won that game, 41-31. Since that setback, the Tigers have won six straight decisions to move to 11-1 overall, and they are ranked first nationally for the first time in 47 years. Last Saturday night, they put forth a tremendous effort in a 36-28 victory over previously unbeaten Kansas to earn a spot in this weekend's contest. Oklahoma sealed its berth in the Big 12 title tilt for the fifth time in the last six years with a 49-17 thrashing of rival Oklahoma State last weekend. The Sooners are 10-2 overall, as they suffered narrow road losses to both Colorado and Texas Tech during the regular season. Still, with a victory this weekend, the Sooners could still find themselves playing for the national championship depending on what happens in some other big games around the nation. Oklahoma owns a 64-25-3 advantage in the all-time series with Missouri.

With DeMarco Murray out with a knee injury, Oklahoma leaned heavily on its other talented tailback, Patrick Allen, in last week's matchup with Oklahoma State. Allen came through in a big way, as he rushed for a career-high 202 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. Freshman quarterback Sam Bradford only attempted 15 passes, but he completed 11 of them for 150 yards with four touchdowns. Joe Jon Finley made just three catches in the tilt, but he reached the end zone on twice. Oklahoma is scoring 43.8 ppg this season to go along with 457.6 total ypg. The Sooners have racked up 65 offensive touchdowns, including 30 on the ground. Allen leads the team with 839 yards, while Murray, who is tops with 13 touchdowns, has 764 rushing yards. Murray's status remains questionable for this contest. Bradford has completed 70.2 percent of his passes for 2,670 yards and 32 touchdowns against only seven interceptions, and he has a wealth of outstanding receivers to throw to. Juaquin Iglesias is tops with 57 catches and 822 yards, while Jermaine Gresham has scored 10 touchdowns.

Oklahoma limited Oklahoma State to 17 points in the rivalry game last week, a strong showing by the defense. While the Sooners did struggle a bit against the run, yielding 195 yards on 39 attempts, they limited the Cowboys to 104 passing yards on nine completions. There wasn't a high number of big plays made by the defense, as only one takeaway and one sack were registered, but the overall effort was impressive. Opponents are posting 18.2 ppg and 324.6 total ypg against Oklahoma, which is only allowing 91.4 rushing ypg on 2.8 yards per attempt. So although the Sooners struggled against the run last week, that performance was not indicative of the team's season play. Curtis Lofton has been a force for Oklahoma, as he has made 132 total tackles, 55 more than his closest teammate. Austin English is still nursing an ankle injury, and the defensive end has registered 9.5 sacks in the nine games he has played. It remains to be seen if English is healthy enough to play this weekend.

Heading into this season, Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel was not even on the Heisman radar. Now, after completing a dream regular season, Daniel is in great position to be named a finalist for the award. Although he is generously listed at 6-0, Daniel overcomes a lack of ideal height with toughness, arm strength and tremendous accuracy. He has completed 70.5 percent of his passes this season for 3,951 yards and 33 touchdowns against only nine interceptions, and Daniel has also scored three rushing touchdowns. Jeremy Maclin is just a freshman, but he has proven to be one of the nation's most dangerous all- purpose threats. Maclin has caught 69 passes for 954 yards and nine touchdowns, and he also has 309 rushing yards and four more scores to his credit. A dangerous punt returner as well, Maclin has taken two of his 22 returns to the house. Martin Rucker has 75 catches for 739 yards and eight touchdowns for Missouri, and Tony Temple has run for 739 yards and eight scores. Daniel was brilliant against Kansas last week, as he completed 40-of-49 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Temple ran for 98 yards, and Maclin finished with 10 grabs for 69 yards.

Missouri has not been a dominant defensive team this season, as the club is surrendering 23.4 ppg and 380.8 total ypg. Fortunately, Daniel and the offense puts up such outstanding numbers that the defense simply has to be adequate. The Tigers are allowing 3.6 rushing ypc and 10.3 yards per pass completion, satisfactory averages by most standards. The first time Missouri played Oklahoma this season, the Tigers yielded 41 points, and a much better effort will be needed this time. Sean Weatherspoon leads the team with 109 total tackles, including eight TFLs. As for William Moore, who is second on the squad in tackles, he has registered seven interceptions. The Missouri defense managed to hold Kansas scoreless in the first half of last weekend's showdown, an outstanding effort against an explosive offense. Unfortunately, the Tigers allowed four touchdowns to the Jayhawks in the second half, including three in the fourth quarter, making the game close.

With so much on the line, Missouri has to keep its emotions in check and focus on beating the Sooners. That will not be easy, however, as Oklahoma remains one of the nation's most talented teams. Give the edge to Daniel and company, although a win by Bradford and his teammates would not be surprising.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Missouri 34, Oklahoma 31