For the Nebraska football team to feel that it has any reason being ranked as one of the top-25 teams in the country, it needs to do more than just beat Missouri Thursday night.

They need to embarrass the Tigers like Mizzou did to them last season.

On Thursday night, both Nebraska and Missouri open up their respective Big 12 Conference schedules. For these two teams, though, it’s more than just another conference opener.

Missouri made a joke of Nebraska last season, blasting the Huskers 52-17 on national television in Lincoln–it couldn’t have been much worse for NU.

After a competitive game against Virginia Tech in 2008, which they lost 35-30, Nebraska laid an egg against Missouri and went on to lose its third-consecutive game to Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas–a game they should have won.

This year is much different, even though the records might now show it. Nebraska is once again a one-loss team heading into its game against undefeated Missouri, but the Huskers are ranked higher.

Missouri fought its way into the top-25 after winning four fluff games against Illinois, Bowling Green, Furman and Nevada.

Illinois looked to be a legit win to start the season, but the Fighting Illini have since proven that idea wrong with blowout losses to Ohio State (justified) and Penn State (who lost to an Iowa team that could barely withstand Northern Iowa and Arkansas State).

Unless Missouri has yet another cat in the bag, the Tigers are going to be pulled out into the open by a stronger Nebraska team and be discovered for what they really are–a mediocre Big 12 Conference football team.

At least this year.

Missouri has been the one team to prove me wrong in the past, but Nebraska finally has the defense to shut down a fairly weak Missouri offensive attack. The Blackshirts are the top scoring defense in the country, too.

The Huskers and Tigers meet up for a big primetime showdown Thursday night on ESPN–Final Score: Nebraska 38, Missouri 17