Sunday I talked a little bit about how it seems as though this season Missouri has lost that eye of the tiger that it had last year. That's exactly what happens to Rocky Balboa in the movie. Rocky III opens with the ending of Rocky II in which Rocky defeats Apollo Creed in dramatic fashion. The Apollo Creed fight could metaphorically be seen as the entire 2007 Mizzou football season. People said there was no way Balboa could defeat Creed and people said there was no way Mizzou could rise to national prominence. Both proved the cynics wrong. 

But after Rocky won the title from Creed he changed. He was no longer the rugged streetfighter from the streets of Philly. After winning the championship he became a superstar. He got caught up in doing commercials and buying motorcycles. Meanwhile, Mick kept scheduling cupcakes for him to fight. He had no trouble knocking those chumps out and his status kept rising despite the fact that he wasn't fighting anyone.

The same thing has happened to the Tigers this season. Just as Rocky became more of a celebrity than a boxer, Chase Daniel became more of a Heisman candidate than a quarterback. And the Tigers became more of a Sports Illustrated cover team than a Big 12 contender. 

So Rocky, and Mizzou, got cocky while their opponents—Texas, Okie St., and Clubber Lang—kept getting stronger. That ended up being a recipe for disaster in both cases. The Tigers got stunned by the Pokes and embarrassed by the Horns and Rocky got KO'd by Mr. T. 

The losses sent Tiger fans across the state into a vicious cycle of depression. Rocky's loss, on the other hand, flat out killed his trainer Mickey and resulted in the infamous Sylvester Stallone sobbing scene, which is nothing short of hysterical. 

Following the defeat to Clubber and Mick's death, Rocky struggles to motivate himself for a second fight against the new champ. But eventually he gets help from his former rival, Apollo, who takes Rock to his old hood in LA and eventually to the beach where, in one of the most homo erotic scenes in the history of moviemaking, Rocky finally regains that elusive "eye of the tiger."

This is what we have to hope has happened to the Tigers all week during practice. Getting back to the basics. Rediscovering what got them this far in the first place. It's also a lot more than that but this is where they have to start. And I like what I've read about the team meeting that was called on Sunday night. I also love the way Chase Daniel has gone about re-instilling confidence in his team by doing things like coming to a news conference with a list of things his teammates have accomplished that he read after being asked repeatedly about OU's playmakers. He has to do a lot more that just be a leader Sunday through Friday. But it's a start. 

After the gay err....I mean, inspiring beach/training/gay sex scene, everyone in Balboa's camp knew he was back. But that didn't keep the media or his opponent from speculating that he was washed up. He went into the rematch against Clubber Lang as an overwhelming underdog and for good reason. Just about everyone agreed that there was only one thing for certain that was going to be in Rocky's (and Mizzou's) future...PAIN.

But much to Clubber's surprise, the Rocky he saw the second time around was a much different Rocky than the one he toyed with in the first fight. Rocky ended up relishing that everyone left him for dead. And the things that would've intimidated Rocky in the first fight, like Lang throwing him into the ropes like a rag doll, served only to fire him up even more. 

I could go on about what really needs to happen during the game for Mizzou to have a chance on Saturday, but why bother? We know what has to happen. Chase Daniel has to have the game of his career. The defense has to play over its head. We need the O-line to not fall apart like it did at Texas. We could use some big plays from Maclin and will need guys like Coffman, Saunders and D-Wash to continue to be solid. 

But ultimately, we need a different team to show up at Arrowhead Stadium. We need last year's team to come back. I don't think it's a good thing when the best thing you've got going for you is that no one thinks you can win but this situation plays out quite frequently in sports.

Another thing to consider is that the Class of '09 is going to be playing for its legacy. They've played in plenty of big games the last four years but in those games they knew that if they lost there would be a shot at redemption just around the corner. That's no longer the case. Mizzou fans will remember this group fondly no matter what happens on Saturday. But the rest of the college football world will have a different view of things, especially if the Tigers come up short. This team doesn't have to magically become a better team than Oklahoma. They just have to be better for 60 minutes. If that happens then all that talk about Chase Daniel not being a good clutch player? Gone. Everyone saying this defense is God awful? No one cares anymore. Mizzou a one-year wonder? Hardly.

If the Tigers win then it will be nothing short of stunning how this team's trajectory over the past two seasons mirrors that of Rocky Balboa's in Rocky II and III. I just hope Chase Daniel has spent the entire week on some beach wearing short-shorts and running wind sprints with Carl Weathers. 

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