Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
The creation of the Big 12 snuffed out Nebraska's most storied rival when it did away with the annual Nebraska-Oklahoma game. Memories of all those great battles between Barry Switzer and Tom Osborne are all we have with the game between the Cornhuskers and Sooners now being played only twice during a four-season period.
That was no big deal for Nebraska fans when the Big 12 was created because the Cornhuskers had a crackling rivalry with Colorado that was boosted because of their intense dislike of Rick Neuheisel. When Neuheisel left for Washington, Kansas State took the No. 1 rivalry position for Nebraska fans because of Bill Snyder's building of the program. That continued for several years, but it's been gone since Snyder's retirement.
The Cornhuskers still play Colorado on the day after Thanksgiving, but that game is not nearly as heated as it might have been in recent years.
Corn Nation brings up several great historic points about how Missouri has now become the team that most Nebraska fans love to hate the most.
There's already a trophy awarded -- the Nebraska-Missouri bell. And something tells me that Nebraska fans are getting tired of Chase Daniel blistering their secondary with passes and then telling reporters after the game that the defensive strategy reminds him of something he might have seen in high school.
Missouri has racked up 41 points against Nebraska's defense in each of their last three home games against the Cornhuskers. The 41-6 loss in Columbia last season helped set into motion the actions that have done away with the tradition of awarding Blackshirts for the Nebraska defense. It hasn't come back yet.
And for those with a historic bent, back in 1892 when Missouri refused to play Nebraska because of an African-American player on the Cornhuskers' roster named George Flippin. The result was a forfeit, according to the website netnebraska.org, which has detailed the history of the Nebraska program in a television documentary series.
Nebraska fans follow the Web site's wishes and place Missouri at the top of their Cornhusker hate meter. If Daniel leads the Tigers into Lincoln and snaps the 15-game winning streak on Saturday, it will be a big start to it.
Tim Griffin joined ESPN.com in February 2008. He has covered the Big 12 since its inception, among a variety of beats during a 24-year career at the San Antonio Express-News. Griffin, a Memphis State University graduate, lives in San Antonio with his wife and son.
