As discussed by Gabe in the PowerMizzou Mailbag today, every Mizzou fan is painfully aware that Missouri was two plays away from an 11-1 season.

A week ago, one of our readers posed the question: What if Mizzou had beaten Oklahoma State? Thanks to the greatness of the Colley Matrix, we're able to find out.

Now, because of the events of the past week, I'll have to add the addendum "and Kansas" to the end of the original question.

Now, while the change in human polls is impossible to quantify in a predictive manner, had Missouri beaten OSU and Kansas, this week's BCS rankings would look something like this:

Notice the change at the top. If Texas fans are angry at Missouri for losing to Kansas, imagine what a win over Oklahoma State would have done to help their case. A win over an 11-1 Missouri team instead of a 9-3 Missouri team pushes Texas into a commanding lead in the BCS, and into the Big 12 Title game.

Now the question becomes, would Missouri have still been in national title talk if the Tigers would have been able to avenge their only loss in the Big 12 title game? To best analyze this change, it'll have to be conditionally based on the result of the SEC Championship Game between Georgia and Florida.

First, if Alabama beats Florida:

Now, again, this system is unable to account for the swing in human voting, as I assume that there's no way pollsters would keep a one-loss team who avenged its sole loss behind the two-loss team it just beat. But that just goes to show that the computers would have been more impressed with Texas' season as a whole than Missouri's.

Would anything have changed if Florida were to beat Bama?

So, barring some major pollster love (which, while not guaranteed, would have certainly been plausible), Missouri avenging its loss to Texas would have meant little to the computers.

All we can derive here is that if Missouri had won those two close games, the Tigers would very likely be awaiting the Longhorns, not the Sooners, in Kansas City. From there, it would have been up to the voters to give Mizzou a title nod if the Tigers could have somehow pulled off the upset en route to a Big 12 title.

This week's edition of Crossfire welcomes Matt of Crimson and Cream Machine to RMN for an opposing viewpoint on Saturday's Big 12 Championship.

RMN: Everyone's stat of the moment is Oklahoma's string of four straight games with 60-plus points. Is there any reason to believe this offense can be slowed enough to give Missouri a shot?

CCM: "With all due respect, after watching Kansas play against Missouri on Saturday I am extremely confident in Oklahoma's ability to pass against the Tigers. There hasn't been a team yet to put the breaks on OU's offense and the Tigers currently rank last in the conference in passing yards allowed per game so it doesn't appear, to me, that strategy wise that Missouri has the personnel to stop Oklahoma's attack.

Now, that said I am always scared of Kansas City. When temperatures drop near freezing passing games seem to come unhitched. I know that you've already pointed out the 2003 Big 12 Championship game when the Kansas State Wildcats ripped through the Sooners. I was at that game and for some reason Jason White and company couldn't move the ball. That game was in KC where the Sooners just aren't as dominant for some reason. I would say that Missouri definitely has a shot Saturday night."

RMN: What caused Oklahoma's 45-35 loss to Texas in October? Are the factors that contributed the Sooners' sole loss replicable by Missouri?

CCM: "I'm not one to make excuses for losses so what caused the loss was that on that day in the Cotton Bowl the Texas Longhorns were the better team. Now, with that understanding there were two contributing factors to Oklahoma being inferior were DeMarco Murray not being fully healthy and the loss of middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds. With Reynolds in the game the Sooner defense gave up 198 yards and 13 points. With Reynolds gone the defense allowed 288 yards and 24 points.

Against Texas DeMarco Murray averaged 0.9 yards per carry and was as effective as the kid on the sideline passing out cups of Gatorade. Part of that was due to the Longhorns defense but the majority of the problem was that he just hadn't regained his full strength. Murray ran extremely soft the first five games of the season but has since turned it on and is now averaging 5.6 yards per carry on the season.

I'm confident in Murray and Oklahoma's rushing attack now but still leery about the linebacker situation. Ryan Reynold's backup went down Saturday night against Oklahoma State and now the Sooners are faced once again with the task of putting someone in the middle to anchor the defense. The options aren't great either. They are either going to put in a third string LB or move Nic Harris from safety to the middle linebacker spot."

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This week, we're stepping outside the RMN family for an extra special Rock M Roundtable. For today's discussion, we're happy to welcome Bob Swerski, Todd O'Connor, Pat Arnold, and Carl Wollarski, perhaps better collectively known as the "Superfans." Take it away, boys.

 Bob: Hello, my friends, and welcome to a special Missouri edition of Bill Swerski's Superfansss. My name is Bob Swerski, sitting in for my brudder Bill, who's still recuperating from his most recent heart attack, induced by overindulgence of bratwurst and the strain on his system caused by last week's Border War.

 Pat: Real shame, Bahb.

 Bob: With me as always are Da Superfansss. Pat Arnold.

 Pat: Hey Bahb.

 Bob: Carl Wollarski.

 Carl (knawing on leftover turkey): Hey Bahb.

 Bob: And Todd O'Connor.

 Todd: How are ya, Bahb?

(full roundtable after the jump)

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Are you a lover of BCS chaos? A burnt orange aficionado disenfranchised by a computer algorithim? A Big 12 North fan tired of seeing the "big money" schools in Austin and Norman waltz away with conference supremacy?

Fear not, there IS room for you on the Missouri bandwagon. (And, yes, feel free to take a seat vacated by those who jumped off the edge after last Saturday's debacle in Kansas City)

For all non-Mizzou fans who will be cheering for the black and gold next Saturday, see below for Rock M Nation's official Big 12 Championship Fan Visa. Your visa permits you temporary Missouri fandom without any strings attached.

Apply today!

BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP FAN VISA
(Answer in the comments section)

APPLICATION SECTION

1. Please state your SB Nation user name, and, if desired, your legal name.
2. Please state from where you will be viewing the 2008 Big 12 Championship.
3. Declare your primary college football allegiance.
4. What brings you to the Missouri bandwagon this weekend?

Sure, the photo is old and Chris Simms isn't exactly at Texas anymore, but the sentiment from the BCS remains the same.

Missouri becomes America's team this week as it tries to set the BCS world aflame, taking on Oklahoma next Saturday at Arrowead for the Big 12 Title.

And, don't forget: 2003 Kansas State.

Who: No. 12 Missouri Tigers (9-2, 5-2) at Kansas Jayhawks (6-5, 3-4)
Where: Arrowhead Stadium (Capacity 77,038)
When: 11:40 a.m. CST
Line: Missouri by 16.0

VS.

Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike "To The House" Kelly, John Kadlec, Chris Gervino)
TV: FSN (Bill Land, Dave Lapham, Jim Knox)
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. No hyperbole, no jokes, no rhetorical questions...

M-I-Z, F-k-U.

Party like it's 1863.

Fight Tigers... Rock, Flag and Eagle!

Live Blog after the jump.

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It's unequivocally my favorite holiday of the year, and it's one where I'd like to take this opportunity to wish every single RMN reader a happy, healthy and prosperous Thanksgiving.

In the spirit of giving thanks, here's a list of things I'm thankful for, dating back to last Thanksgiving.

I'm thankful for...

... the chance to bear hug everyone in my family as Todd Reesing came up with the Arrowhead Stadium endzone stuck in his facemask.

... The chance to attend the world's greatest journalism school while cheering for the nation's No. 1 football team, even though the duration at No. 1 was so brief.

... A bittersweet thanks to the BCS for screwing Mizzou over, allowing me the opportunity to host several great friends for the Cotton Bowl in my hometown.

... Watching the Mizzou defense absolutely shutout Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, giving Tony Temple the chance to be the best back on the Cotton Bowl field that morning.

... William Moore, Chase Daniel, Chase Coffman, Ziggy Hood and Stryker Sulak all opting to return for 2008.

... the chance to respond "Wait, what?!?" every time I heard score updates of Mizzou basketball's whooping of Texas at Mizzou Arena last January.

... the chance to attend my first MU/KU basketball game, score not withstanding.

... the outpouring of support from Mizzou fans at the news of Larry Smith's passing.

... Mike Anderson suspending nearly his entire senior class following the incident at Athena.

... Mizzou nearly beating Nebraska with only seven players, the most likable roster the team fielded all year.

... Watching J.T. Tiller lead Mizzou to an upset of Michael Beasley and K-State that no one saw coming.

Rest of the list after the jump

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