By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

The Oklahoma Sooners will roll into Kansas City for Saturday's Big 12 Championship Game with a gaudy 11-1 record. They'll be heavily favored to smash the Missouri Tigers.

But don't be too surprised if OU leaves town a whipped football team.

The Big 12 title game has seen several huge upsets, in situations much like this one, in which a nationally ranked team loses to a lightly taken opponent. Examples:

-- 2003: OU is the No. 1 team in the nation, one of the supposedly best collegiate squads of all time. Kansas State rakes the Sooners, 35-7.

-- 2001: Texas comes in as the No. 3 team in America, and is upset by Colorado, 39-37.

-- 1996: In the first Big 12 championship, Texas romps over a favored Nebraska squad.

Sure, it's going to take a hot Missouri team doing all the right things to defeat OU on Saturday.

But if quarterback Chase Daniel has a great game, and coach Gary Pinkel can avoid a mid- or late-game meltdown in coaching strategy, the Tigers just might pull off one of the bigger upsets of the 2008 season.