Big 12 Championship Preview -
Oklahoma vs. Missouri
Courtesy of The Big 12
November 28, 2007

Oklahoma leads 64-23-5
At Columbia: Oklahoma leads, 32-15
At Norman: Oklahoma leads, 32-8-5
Neutral Sites: 0-0

MATCHUP NOTEBOOK......
Oklahoma (2006, ‘04, ‘03, ‘02, ‘00) is playing in its sixth Big 12 title game, while Missouri is making its first appearance. Oklahoma’s six appearances are the most in league history. The Sooners have represented the South Division in four of the last five contests.

In their meeting on October 13 this season, Oklahoma defeated Missouri, 41-31, in Norman, Okla.

This marks the sixth time that the championship game participants have played during the regular season. The previous five rematch games between teams were in 1999 (Nebraska-Texas), 2000 (Kansas State-Oklahoma), 2001 (Colorado-Texas), 2002 (Colorado-Oklahoma) and 2005 (Colorado-Texas).

Missouri’s current No. 1 ranking is the first in school history.

Oklahoma won its fourth Big 12 Championship game last year. The four conference title games won by the Sooners are the most in league history.

The South Division has an edge in the previous 11 title contests, holding a 7-4 advantage. North and South teams alternated wins in the first eight years of the game with the South winning each of the last three contests.

The designated home team in each of the first six Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship games (1996-01) was the winning squad. The visiting team has won three of the last five contests. The Tigers are the home team for this year’s title event.

The Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game has been held at five different sites in its history. San Antonio’s Alamodome is hosting for the third time, the second most to Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, which has hosted four times.

At least one participant in the Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship game has been ranked among the top eight nationally in either the Associated Press or USA TODAY national polls in the game’s 12-year history. Missouri is No. 1 & 2 and Oklahoma is No. 8 & 9 in the polls this year.

Twenty-one of the 24 squads in the championship contest have been ranked at the time of the engagement. In addition, Texas jumped from unranked to No. 20 in the next AP survey after upsetting then-No. 3 Nebraska, 37-27, at St. Louis in 1996.

In the Sooners five previous Big 12 Championship appearances, they have never played at the Alamodome in San Antonio. They have played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., four times
and once at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.