An upset-filled college football season has made the Bowl Championship Series a weekly amusement ride, with teams rising and falling at breakneck speed. Appalachian State's win at Michigan in week one should have told us this would be a zany year, even by BCS standards.

Given the way it has played out, with former No. 1 teams strewn along the road to New Orleans, it is perhaps wishful thinking to believe Missouri, this week's No. 1 in the BCS rankings, and No. 2 West Virginia will play for the national championship on Jan. 7 in the Superdome.

Here's wishing for it anyway.

To become reality, Missouri (11-1) must beat Oklahoma (10-2) in the Big 12 Conference title game Saturday at San Antonio. West Virginia (10-1) has it much easier. It can punch its ticket with a victory over 4-7 Pitt, which means beating Dave Wannstedt.

Who hasn't done that?

Missouri's appeal begins with quarterback Chase Daniel, who completed 40 of 49 passes in Saturday night's win over Kansas.

It's tough to connect on 40 of 49 passes in practice, with no defense in the way. To do it on a national stage, against the No. 2-ranked team in the country, is off the charts, and thrust Daniel ahead of many in the cluttered Heisman Trophy race.

Missouri also is a known commodity in these parts, having beaten Illinois (40-34) and Illinois State (38-17) this season. When's the last time a team defeated the Illini and the Redbirds in the same year on the way to the national title game?

Try never.

There is comfort in being familiar with Daniel and his fast-paced, spread offense. Aside from being fun to watch, we know it works.

Defensive coordinators at Illinois (Dan Disch, Curt Mallory) and Illinois State (Galen Scott) can attest to that. The Tigers ran up 429 yards and 25 first downs on Illinois, and 581 yards and 31 first downs against ISU.

Their 36-28 win over Kansas was more impressive than the final score suggests, and provides real hope this year's national title game will not be another pairing of long-established powers.

No one would have predicted a Missouri vs. West Virginia matchup when the season began, or as recently as a month ago. That's why it is so intriguing and, potentially, so good for college football.

There could be no better illustration of the sport's parity than to have Gary Pinkel and Rich Rodriguez matching Xs and Os in the year's biggest game. Neither is a household name, and that's OK.

Perfect, in fact.

A Missouri vs. West Virginia title game would allow us to learn more about Rodriguez's Mountaineers. Face it, most folks know only that West Virginia is west of Virginia.

Some may realize Rodriguez has a dynamite quarterback in junior Pat White, who his coach is touting for the Heisman. They are not in the majority.

When it comes to mountaineers, we're more likely to think of Jed Clampett … "the poor mountaineer who barely kept his family fed."

Jed never played quarterback, or in a national title game. So why not White, running back Steve Slaton and whoever else suits up for West Virginia?

It could be fun, or at worst, educational.

Again, 2007's track record is such we'll probably be denied our "new faces" matchup. Should Missouri and West Virginia both stumble this weekend, we could be left with an Ohio State vs. Georgia title game, even though neither is playing Saturday.

No. 3 Ohio State wrapped up an 11-1 season on Nov. 17 with a win over Michigan, and Georgia beat Georgia Tech in its regular-season finale Saturday. The Bulldogs (10-2) did not make the SEC championship game, yet, at No. 4 in the BCS rankings, could play for the national title.

If you needed another reason to root for Missouri and West Virginia, there you go. What they lack in tradition/prestige, they make up for in intrigue and entertainment potential.

Here's wishing for it.

Randy Kindred is a Pantagraph columnist. To leave him a voice mail, call 820-3402. By e-mail: rkindred@pantagraph.com. The Randy Kindred Blog is at www.pantagraph.com/blogs