As we get to the middle of the Big 12 season, the picture of the title game is very clear in the South, but still murky in the North. Until Saturday, most people agreed that Colorado and Nebraska were by far the class of the Big 12 North. Sure Missouri was 2-1, but their wins came against conference bottoms Iowa State and Oklahoma State, and now they had to play Nebraska! Many assumed Nebraska’s vaunted defense would shut down the Tigers’ offense and return to the top 25. But someone forgot to tell Brad Smith.

The sometimes notable, sometimes maligned senior quarterback decided to have arguably the best game of his career on Saturday. Throwing for 234 yards, plus a TD pass, and rushing for 246 and 3 TDs (setting a Mizzou record for total yards with 480), Smith single-handedly moved Missouri into contention for the North’s champion. This performance came after a week in which Smith’s backup, freshman Chase Daniel, was building support for the quarterback job. The highly touted Daniel entered Missouri’s game against Iowa State for an injured Smith and led them to a 27-24 overtime victory, throwing for 185 yards on 16 of 23 passes. However, this week all Chase Daniel did was disrupt Missouri’s momentum. After four straight scoring drives by Smith to start the game, Daniel went on the first drive of the second quarter only to see nothing materialize. The drive turned out to be a great drive for Nebraska. Although this was a predesigned move that was supposed to be 1 of 2 drives for Daniel’s game, Smith’s performance dictated that he stay in the game.

Brad Smith’s years in Missouri have had some great ups and downs, often resulting in results that fell short of expectations. As a true freshman in 2002, Smith replaced starting starter Kirk Farmer as the Tigers went to a 5-7 record. With high expectations for 2003, Smith led the team to an 8-5 record and an Independence Bowl berth (a loss to Arkansas), behind a season of 1,310 rushing yards, 28 total touchdowns. Going into 2004, Smith was receiving a fair amount of Heisman publicity and did nothing about it. He was one of the biggest disappointments of the 2004 college football season. Many attribute his abandonment to mismanagement by coach Gary Pinkel, but the decline in his numbers was severe. Although his passing yardage increased, his completion percentage dropped from 60.6 to 51.8 and his rushing yards plummeted to 553.

Although it looks like Brad Smith will never leave Missouri, it’s his senior season now. 2005 is a year that Brad Smith can finally live up to his enormous potential. By getting past the defense against the previously ranked first-in-the-nation run on Saturday, Smith has solidified his job and put Missouri in the hunt in the Big 12 North. His performance made him the sixth player in NCAA history to throw for 200 yards and pass for 200 yards in a single game (the first since Indiana’s Antwaan Randle El in 2000). In addition, he is currently the leading rusher in the Big 12 and the 10th leading rusher in the NCAA this season, already surpassing his total since 2004.

But severe obstacles still remain in the paths of Smith and Missouri. This week they visit Kansas for the annual Border War. Kansas has won the last 2 meetings and has proven to be a big problem for Smith. In the last two games against them, Smith has rushed for a whopping -8 yards on 30 carries and the Kansas defense he will face this season is currently ranked #1 in the Big 12 against the run. If they can somehow shake off the demons in Lawrence, they still have road games with current North favorite Colorado and Kansas State, whom they haven’t beaten since 1992.

I’m hesitant to put my money on Smith, who has shown flashes of utter brilliance before, rushing for 291 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 2003 win over Texas Tech. He’s been one of the most inconsistent players in college football in recent years. The question is did he turn the corner Saturday against Nebraska or was it just another bright flash. You have to wonder if he’ll ever put it all together.

As for Missouri, I just don’t think they have a team capable of winning the North. Other than Brad Smith, they’re still not that great. They currently rank 10th in the conference in total defense, allowing 375 yards per game, their schedule is going poorly, and useless Gary Pinkel is still their coach. Missouri will only go as far as Brad Smith takes them. If he plays even 80 percent as well the rest of the season as he did in the Nebraska game, he can give Vince Young a run for best player in the Big 12 and lead Missouri to its first NBA championship game. 12 grand. But if he doesn’t, he could easily fade into oblivion after this season. Now is the time for Smith to establish himself as a great quarterback or become the current version of Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus, a four-year starter who was never able to reach his full potential.