Amidst the depression that is the current state of football in the state of Missouri, there is one beacon of shining light. And those local sports fans who have been around for 15-20 years or more are probably struggling to wrap their minds around the fact that the beacon of shining light is the Missouri Tigers football team.
Mizzou isn't just slipping into the football void created by the completely inept Rams and Chiefs by winning a few games and sneaking into the Top 25. They've taking the top spot in the local scene by firmly placing themselves in the NCAA National Title discussion.
When the new polls came out yesterday, Mizzou had officially worked their way back into the Top 5 in the nation, with many viewing them as worthy of a higher spot than that. They laid 69 points on Nevada Saturday to improve to 3-0 on the season. And it wasn't just the fact that they beat up on an inferior opponent, it was the efficiency in which they did so. Nevada's defense kept another high powered Big 12 offense - Texas Tech - under wraps the week prior, but were absolutely no match for Mizzou's array of weapons.
Here are some fun facts from the Missouri win on Saturday:
Stat of the Week: Over the past two weeks Chase Daniel has 7 touchdowns...and 6 incomplete passes.
In 3 games so far this season Missouri's offense has scored 173 points. In their memorable 1-10 1985 season, they scored 206 points total.
As you probably know by now, Chase Daniel broke Brad Smith's all time Mizzou passing mark and now has a career total of 9,153 yards. Daniel has done so in 19 less starts, with 313 less pass attempts 9 less interceptions and has 16 more TD's than Smith. That said, Chase has never run for 291 yards in a game like Smith did.
Chase can apparently throw the ball without even having his hands on the seems...
Daniel's passer rating for 2008 is 197.48, good for 4th in the nation, but also only good for 3rd in the Big 12 (Sam Bradford OU - 214.43; Josh Freeman KSU - 209.29)
Missouri ranks #1 in the nation in scoring offense with 57.7 points per game.
Up Next: Buffalo 2-1 Player to Watch: WR Naaman Roosevelt - currently 6th in the nation in total receiving with 351 yards - will go up against a questionable Missouri secondary.
Amidst the depression that is the current state of football in the state of Missouri, there is one beacon of shining light. And those local sports fans who have been around for 15-20 years or more are probably struggling to wrap their minds around the fact that the beacon of shining light is the Missouri Tigers football team. 
