In what will be one of the most exciting college football weekends of the season, certain teams will either make or break their chances of getting into a bowl game. To kick off, Chase Daniel leads the way for Missouri against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 championship. When Missouri lost to the Sooners in a 41-31 deficit earlier in the season, the Tigers seemed as if they were a completely different team than they are now. That was the only loss that the Tigers suffered all year, and it will be highly unlikely that Missouri gives up 18 fourth quarter points like they did in their first meeting with Oklahoma.

Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel firmly believes that his defense has been the determining factor of his team’s success.

"I think our defense has done just a phenomenal job," Pinkel said.

This is also the same team that gave up a total of 347 yards to Division I-AA Illinois State, who finished just 4-7 in the Gateway Conference. Missouri defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has done all he can to prepare the Tigers for the conference championship. The team has drastically improved defensively since the beginning of the season, as statistics have indicated. As far as the offense is concerned, the Tigers usually utilize a passing game behind the tremendous arm of quarterback Chase Daniel. In the 12 games that they have played, they had 59 more pass attempts than rush attempts. Will the Tigers prevail or suffer defeat like they did earlier in the season?

#2 West Virginia also has their hands full with Pittsburgh. Coach Rich Rodriguez is hoping that his team can secure its spot in the national title game, which would give West Virginia a chance to capture its first national championship in team history. The team has witnessed nothing but luck considering that five #2 teams have lost since October 6, including USC, California, Oregon, South Florida, and Boston College.

West Virginia cannot make the mistake of taking unranked Pittsburgh too lightly. Though West Virginia running back Steve Slaton has pounced on the Panthers in the past, Pittsburgh’s above-average defense should be able to limit the damage of West Virginia’s running game. Next to Slaton, the Mountaineers can also go to freshman Noel Devine. Last week, West Virginia put up a whopping 517 rushing yards against Connecticut in a 66-21 victory.

"Speed. They're getting more speed and big-play options on the field," said Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt. "It makes a difference. Devine obviously brings a dimension of a big-play capability."

With selection Sunday on the horizon, teams will battle off in their most important games of the season. Other notable games to watch include #6 Virginia Tech vs. #11 Boston College and #14 Tennessee vs. former #1 LSU (now #7). This weekend will answer many questions, and selection Sunday should provide for some interesting results.