The Tigers and Sooners, together in Kansas City, Big 12 title on the line, according to script, right?

Hardly.

These may be the teams picked to play for the league championship nearly five months ago, but the script was ditched long ago.

The Sooners are on the verge of a berth in the national title game, which would be their fourth this decade. But as good as they’ve been — 11-1 good, averaging a shade under 64 points a game in November — they arrive amid controversy, with the one team to beat them, the Texas Longhorns, also 11-1 and fuming about being forced to sit out.

The Tigers limp into the game, literally and figuratively, with several stars hurting and everyone bumming about a loss — in Arrowhead — to Border War rival Kansas last Saturday. Just as they prepare to play for their first league crown, and a BCS bowl bid, they’ve been peppered with questions about this “disappointing” season.

Mizzou quarterback Chase Daniel was a magazine cover boy during the season’s early stages. Now, he ranks as an afterthought in discussions involving the Big 12’s best, with OU’s Sam Bradford, Texas’ Colt McCoy and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell dominating Heisman conversation.

It’s been a similar slide from view for the Tigers, who opened the season ranked No. 6 nationally and rose as high as No. 3 in one poll, before tumbling due to back-to-back losses to Oklahoma State and Texas.

They’d regained some traction, with four straight wins, before last week’s stunning loss to KU. Now they’re scrambling to regroup for the surging Sooners.

“When you’re 9-3 and disappointed, that suggests you made a lot of progress,” said Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel. “I’ve talked to other coaches in this league, and if you place all your hopes on winning the national championship, then except for about four teams, you’re tremendously disappointed.

“There’s a fine line between being 11-1 and 9-3. When you’re 11-1, you make those plays. When you’re 9-3, you don’t.

“Do I wish our record was better? Certainly, we all do. But that’s the struggle we have.”

And the challenge doesn’t stop there.

The Tigers are less than full speed, with Daniel’s top options — tight end Chase Coffman and wideout Jeremy Maclin — hurting with toe and knee injuries, respectively.

Revenge could be a motive for Mizzou, except the Tigers were slapped down in two meetings with OU a year ago, including the conference championship game.

And that jarring from the Jayhawks didn’t do much for the collective psyche of the Tigers.

The Sooners, however, couldn’t feel much better, except for a minor concern at middle linebacker, where they’re down to their third-team guy.

But really, isn’t it all about the offense at OU?

Bradford leads the nation with 46 touchdown passes. The Sooners lead the nation in scoring at 53.33 points a game. They’ll soon have two 1,000-yard backs in DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown. And they’re fast starters, outscoring opponents 215-30 in the opening quarter this season.

“I think it all begins with Sam Bradford,” said OU coach Bob Stoops. “You have such confidence in him throwing the ball anywhere, any time, or to go for it on fourth down or something.

“Then you have the offensive line, which has been a major part, along with Sam, in the ability to run the football and protect. Then you have the skill guys spread all over the field. Our coaches are doing a great job of using all of them, so it’s hard to isolate and clamp down on any one guy.”

It all contributes to the Sooners being a 17-point favorite.

“We’ve been underdogs before,” Daniel said.

And they’ve been underdogs and lost.

This is a motivated bunch of Sooners. And they can smell their opportunity to get to Miami and play for national title.

The Tigers have motivation, too, with a shot at redemption on the line, not to mention a trip to the Fiesta Bowl.

Mizzou better show up with some sense of urgency, prepared to keep up with the Oklahoma offense. Or risk getting left behind.

And they seem to know it.

“I think you just have to get going,” Daniel said. “You have to get pumped up and be ready to go in all facets of the game — mentally, physically and emotionally. You’ve got to be ready to go. You’ve got to be juiced up.

“There’s nothing much more important in our guys’ lives right now than this game.”

Notes:

There has been some reference to 2003, when the Sooners entered the Big 12 title game unbeaten and ranked No. 1, only to get hammered 35-7 by Kansas State, a huge underdog.

The Sooners are down to their third middle linebacker, Mike Balogun, who replaces Austin Box, injured against Oklahoma State. Box replaced Ryan Reynolds, who was lost for the season in the Texas loss.

Bob Stoops is 5-1 overall in Big 12 championship games. The Sooners have won more league titles than any other Big 12 school and are going for an unprecedented third straight.

Stoops is 6-0 against Missouri, with four of the five decided by at least 10 points, including both matchups a year ago.

Mizzou has never won a conference title game and hasn’t won a conference crown of any kind since sharing the Big Eight championship in 1969.

This Tigers senior class has accounted for 36 wins, the most in any four-year period in school history. The group is also on pace to match the 1981 senior class as the only ones in school history to play in four straight bowl games.

Player to Watch (Tigers) — Chase Coffman, TE

Coffman is the most prolific pass-catching tight end in FBS history, with 236 career receptions. He’s been slowed by a turf toe injury, although he returned and played through the pain to catch two touchdown passes against Kansas. His presence is key against the Sooners, who could be susceptible in the middle of the field, where their linebacker situation is unstable.

Player to Watch (Sooners) — Sam Bradford, QB

Bradford suffered torn ligaments in his left (non-throwing) hand early against Oklahoma State. Not that it was apparent, as he played on, throwing for 370 yards and four touchdowns. Still, sometimes such injuries are worse once the adrenaline is gone. And it will be cold in Kansas City. And the Tigers will be aware of the thumb, which last week limited OU’s playbook.

Oklahoma by 21