Not even ranked until after its third game, Missouri and its Heisman hopeful need a win over Oklahoma to earn a berth, potentially with West Virginia, in the BCS championship game

Maclin set a freshman record for all-purpose yards. Damian Strohmeyer/SI

As the final seconds ticked down on Missouri's 36-28 victory over rival Kansas last Saturday night, a chant that hadn't been shouted by Tigers fans in almost five decades resonated throughout Arrowhead Stadium: "We're Number 1! We're Number 1!"

"We've got a target on our back, but it feels great," said wideout Danario Alexander after hauling in a career-high eight passes for 117 yards and a touchdown to help the Tigers climb to the top of the AP poll for the first time since 1960.

So it has come to this in a college football season that has produced one shocking result after another: Missouri, a team that was unranked at the start of the year, combined its win over No. 2 Kansas with Arkansas's stunning triple-overtime upset of top-ranked LSU to rise from fourth to No. 1 in the BCS rankings. Quite simply, the Tigers are one victory from playing for the national championship.

In the Big 12 title game in San Antonio this Saturday night, Missouri (11-1) will get a chance to avenge its only loss of the season, against Oklahoma (10-2), which won the first meeting 41-31 on Oct. 13 in Norman. For the Tigers to beat the Sooners this time, they'll need junior quarterback Chase Daniel, who committed two costly fourth-quarter turnovers in the first meeting, to play as well as he did in four November victories: 121 completions in 169 attempts (71.6%) for 1,418 yards and 15 touchdowns with only one interception. His rise up the Heisman lists has been as fast as his team's climb in the rankings, and he now stands fourth in the nation with 3,951 passing yards to go with a 70.5% completion rate and 33 touchdowns. Daniel was at his best in the win over previously undefeated Kansas, completing 40 of 49 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns while directing scoring drives of 11, 13, 7, 14, 10 and 12 plays. All told, Daniel, who has been running a shotgun spread attack since his days at Southlake (Texas) Carroll High, completed passes to nine receivers, often scrambling and buying time until somebody got open.

"He'd be the first one to tell you it was the offensive line, the wide receivers or tight ends [who deserve the credit]," says seventh-year Missouri coach Gary Pinkel. "But I'm going to be the first one to tell you, this guy is special."

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