Bill Cocos, 76, has missed exactly two Missouri football games, home or away, since 1969. After the Tigers beat Kansas, 36-28, Saturday to win the Big 12 North title, he was admittedly overwhelmed.

"It was something I thought I would never see in my life," said Cocos, a former member of Missouri's Board of Curators.

Others can relate.

Though Missouri had the highest winning percentage among major college football teams in the 1960s under future Notre Dame coach Dan Devine, long stretches have tested the fan base.

From 1984 to 1996, the Tigers failed to register even one winning season. The low point was a 1-10 record under Woody Widenhofer in 1985. Even the current Gary Pinkel Era was marked until the last two seasons by an embarrassing loss at Troy.

"You can call it a renaissance or rejuvenation or something," said Missouri football radio analyst John Kadlec, a former player and assistant whose association with the school dates back 60 years.

"It's something the fans really haven't experienced. This is the biggest thing for Missouri in terms of a sporting event and something happening with the football team."

A victory over Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game Saturday would propel Missouri into the Bowl Championship Series title game.

The Tigers have no illusions about the task ahead, not after having lost to Oklahoma, 41-31, earlier this season. It was the Sooners' 17th win over Missouri in the last 18 meetings.

"It is good for show, good for Columbia and the state of Missouri, but we have a tough game in San Antonio against a great Oklahoma team," said quarterback Chase Daniel, who has evolved into a Heisman candidate.

Asked what the Tigers needed to beat Oklahoma, defensive tackle Lorenzo Williams said: "It will take a perfect game."

Unlike the players, Tiger Nation plans to enjoy the ride.

Many of the students had yet to return to campus Sunday following the Thanksgiving break.

Even Harpo's, the legendary campus restaurant/bar/hangout, was dead.

But the staff was already bracing for Saturday at a place once rated one of the nation's top college bars by both Sports Illustrated and Playboy.

Missouri memorabilia adorns the walls, including photos from the Tigers' football wins over Nebraska in 1973 and '76.

"It will be very cool on campus," said Harpo's employee Dave McGuire, a sophomore from St. Louis. "It's sinking in. Now we're going to be No. 1 for a week. The whole campus will be on Cloud Nine.

"It's something that doesn't come around very often for a college like Mizzou."

Across Cherry Street, the Tiger Spirit store was experiencing the first wave from the Kansas victory.

Online orders were up 153 percent on Sunday, according to store employee Meredith Prosser, a junior from Mexico, Mo. UPS shipping boxes were stacked high behind the counter.

The store's owners were en route on I-70 toward Independence to obtain commemorative T-shirts for Missouri's win and Big 12 North title.

Shoppers were perusing everything from sweatshirts to baby clothes.

Kadlec says the support has spread around the state.

The Missouri team and fans driving to Kansas City this weekend were greeted by electronic roadside signs that read: "MU beat KU" instead of "Slow traffic ahead."

"It's like an epidemic," Kadlec said.

Cocos, who retains an encyclopedic knowledge of Tigers football, says this is the best Missouri team he has seen. That includes the 1960 club, the last to be ranked No. 1, and the 1969 group that lost to Penn State in the Orange Bowl.

As Cocos sat in a wheelchair Saturday night outside the Missouri locker room, Pinkel placed the glass Big 12 North trophy in his lap and hugged him.