Hey guys,

I wandered over here from my home at Rock M Nation, where recently, my colleague The Boy further examined the implications and ramifications of Missouri's comeback against South Carolina in the 2005 Independence Bowl.

The win was obviously a HUGE turning point for the Missouri program, as detailed in The Boy's post. The win bought Pinkel extra time, time he used to build around Chase Daniel and finally push Mizzou into the top slot in the Big 12 North.

This much we know about what the win did for Mizzou, but I come over to GaBA to ask Gamecock fans exactly how that one evening in Shreveport affected your program. Where do you all think South Carolina's program would be right now if they'd gone on to stomp Mizzou in that game? Would SC have used that game to launch bigger and better things like Mizzou did?

I appreciate any input you guys have from a Garnet and Black viewpoint.

Away we go...

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Texas Tech	--
2	Alabama	--
3	Texas	--
4	Florida	1
5	Oklahoma	1
6	Southern Cal	--
7	Utah	--
8	Penn State	1
9	Boise State	1
10	Oklahoma State	--
11	Missouri	1
12	Ohio State	1
13	Ball State	1
14	Georgia	1
15	Oregon State	4
16	Michigan State	1
17	TCU	1
18	Brigham Young	1
19	Pittsburgh	1
20	Cincinnati	2
21	Miami (Florida)	5
22	Northwestern	4
23	Oregon	3
24	Maryland	2
25	Central Michigan	1

• This ballot is yours to bury. I swear the Big East and the ACC are making it impossible for me to rank 15-25.
• Not a lot of movement at the top thanks to a rather dull week in college football. Florida may be playing some of the best football in the country, and gets a bump for thoroughly dismantling South Carolina.
• Oklahoma drops one spot as a result, but I feel comfortable doing so with the Sooners having an opportunity to catapult themselves up the ballot with a win over Tech next week.
• At some point, I've got to punish Boise for being in a mediocre conference, right? At least Utah will have gone through TCU and BYU if they go undefeated.
• I think Missouri is starting to find its final sweet spot in the 9-11 range. As disappointing as the OSU and Texas games were, Missouri could very well finish as a Top 10 team once again.
• Oregon State is quietly playing some great football right now, and could really screw with the BCS for qualifying for the Rose Bowl.
• The rest of the ballot? Take it for what it's worth. I'm in no way married to the bottom of the ballot, so if you have a convincing argument, hit me.

And, without further ado, I introduce to you the 2008 Big 12 North Division Champions, the Missouri Tigers.

CUE THE CELEBRATION MUSIC!

If you have any legitimate thoughts about the game or the accomplishment, you're more than welcome to share them here. Just don't be surprised when you're bombarded by celebratory GIFs and 33 "WOOOOOOOO!!!" posts.

And, the ISU game hasn't been done for more than 45 seconds, but I feel compelled to add: Let the TWO weeks of hate begin.

Who: No. 12 Missouri Tigers (8-2, 4-2) at Iowa State Cyclones (2-8, 0-6)
Where: Jack Trice Stadium (Capacity 50,674)
When: 5:30 p.m. CST
Line: Missouri by 28.0

VS.

Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike "To The House" Kelly, John Kadlec, Chris Gervino)
TV: FSN (Joel Meyers, Gary Reasons, Emily Jones
Weather: Hourly Forecast
Online trackers: CSTV, ESPN

Make Rock M Nation your base of operations tonight and weigh in with your predictions, questions, worries, bold statements and observations by signing up for a free account. Well, it's setting up to be a miserable evening in Ames, but it can be a glorious night in Columbia if the Tigers take care of business. Can Mizzou overcome the negative voodoo of Jack Trice Stadium and supbar RMN Roundtables? 

Fight Tigers... Rock, Flag and Eagle!

LIVE BLOG after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

A late start for Mizzou means another morning/afternoon of national live threading from the RMN masses. Join us as we keep an eye on the game in Lawrence and phase one of the "Nov. 15 North Championship" plan.

BIG 12 GAMES

 VS. 

Texas  (-13.5) at Kansas
11:30 a.m., FSN (HD)

 VS. 

Nebraska (-6.5) at Kansas State
2:30 p.m., PPV

 VS.

Texas A&M at Baylor (-8.0)
3:05 p.m., no TV announced

 VS. 

Oklahoma State (-17) at Colorado
7:00 p.m., ABC

AND... don't forget: Mizzou basketball is back!

Who: Missouri Tigers vs. Prairie View A&M Panthers
Where: Mizzou Arena (Capacity 15,061)
When: 3:30 p.m. CST
TV: Mizzou Sports Network