maniacmarshall | So the new BCS rankings are out...

and my Tigers are #6. No, not those damn ones from LSU that tease me EVERY week by not losing, but the Tigers of Missouri. The last time my Tigers were ranked this high was 1981... Rachel was not even born then. The last time they were 8-1 was 1969... I was two.

It's probably hard for most people to understand how big of a deal this is for me. I mean, I guess Cub fans could claim they understand, but really, they have at least been to the playoffs a few times in recent years.

It seems like its been forever and ever that we've had to endure being a doormat. The only reason we weren't the worst team in the conference during much of that time was because Kansas and K State were in the conference, and they were two of the worst five teams in the country almost every year. Seriously, before K-State came within inches of the national title game one year, they were the losingest team in the history of college football. Thats right, not Northwestern or someone like that, K-State.

There was losing to Troy, there was losing to Louisiana Tech, there was losing to Bowling fucking Green TWO YEARS IN A ROW AT HOME. At least in those days, we had the basketball team that kept racking up Big 8 titles.

What was worse than that though, was the teases and the screws...

There was that horrible call against Nebraska where on 4th down, a guy laying on the turf intentionally kicks the ball up in the air and it's caught for a touchdown. Should have been a penalty, but no...

Last year there was an even WORSE call against Iowa State that pretty much cost us winning the North title. The conference even admitted it was a mistake and issued an apology... It would have been our first even half conference championship in my lifetime.

But nothing tops what happened in 1990. With Colorado trailing in the last two minutes and the ball at the one yard line, Missouri stopped them four straight times, but, thanks to a bunch of incompetent officials (and our coaching staff too, truthfully) Colorado scored on the last play of the game... on FIFTH DOWN. Suddenly, the program which looked to be turning the corner, fell back into it's old ways.

How big were these? Here is what USA today had to say last year when picking the 20 greatest moments of the last 20 years in college football.

4. Oct. 6, 1990: Visiting Colorado is awarded a fifth down (actually two second downs) and scores on what everyone thought was fourth down as time expires to beat Missouri 33-31 on the way to an 11-1 season and a shared national title with Georgia Tech.

5. Nov. 8, 1997: No. 1 Nebraska scores at the end of regulation on a pass that bounces off a Cornerhusker's foot and into the hands of freshman Matt Davison. The visiting Huskers win in overtime 45-38 en route to a 13-0 season and a split national title with Michigan.

Yeah, thats right, not only did we get SCREWED twice, but both teams go on to win the national championship. :(

The Cubs have one Bartman incident, Tigers fans have two. (Please, don't even get me started on Don Denkinger and the call that cost the Cardinals the World Series in '85. It's like I've been though my own personal officiating hell sometimes I think).

I know I shouldn't even let myself think it... I've been let down SO many times, it's hard to believe but... we're 6th... Kansas and Oklahoma are 4th and 5th... IF Oklahoma can win out, if we can win the next two weeks, if Kansas can too... We'll have a game for the North championship against Kansas, and then a Big XII title game against Oklahoma, so there is two teams passed... If we can win impressively, we might even pass Oregon...

That would still leave us sitting at number 3 though...

Those damn LSU Tigers have a gravy train schedule left... they will probably get Georgia in the SEC title game... I can't see them losing to Georgia...

No, our best bet is for Ohio State to lose.

Tiger fans, for one week, it's time to become Fighting Illini fans too. If Illinois can somehow upset Ohio State (and make our cpu ranking look better too), it's just possible, however unlikely, that we could win our way into the Title game. Yes, there is always hope that Michigan can beat them at Michigan too, but Illinois beating them would help us more...

Will these things happen?

Probably not. Who's to say we can even take care of our own business? Texas A&M won't be easy. They gave Kansas all they could handle. Playing at K-State won't be easy either. We'd have to survive both of those just to "make it to the playoffs" against Kansas and then, if we win, Oklahoma.

But you know what? For the first time in my lifetime, it's the first weekend of November, and I can actually dream of something like this happening, and that itself brings a smile to my face, because it is something that a few years ago, I would never have imagined could happen.