chase daniel

Missouri and West Virginia are one win away from squaring off in the BCS championship game. OK, now go the kitchen, make your Sunday-morning coffee, splash some water over your face, take a moment, and come back.

Yes, Missouri and West Virginia. Yes, this is football. Yes, this is happening.

The Tigers set up a rematch with Oklahoma -- the only team to defeat Missouri -- in next weekend's Big 12 title game after holding on to a 36-28 victory over No. 2 Kansas. Chase Daniel shone under the national spotlight, completing 40-of-49 passes for 361 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, and winning over a few fans like SN member chris_5 in the process: "Chase Daniel is a legit Heisman candidate; he played big in the biggest game so far of the year." As for the Jayhawks, SN's Tom Dienhart writes: "That sound you just heard? It was Kansas' bubble bursting."

West Virginia, after Pat White and Co. ran riot on Connecticut for a 66-21 win, has an easier path to New Orleans. The Mountaineers merely need to take care of Pittsburgh in their backyard next weekend.

If either team stumbles, Ohio State lies in waiting. If both stumble, may God have mercy on the BCS.

Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel didn't make it through two sentences about Whitehall's Dave Steckel without mentioning the coach's sense of humor.

Coincidentally, it took Steckel about the same number of words to reveal that side of his personality in a phone conversation.

Steckel, the Missouri linebackers coach, will be part of the most significant game in the history of the Missouri-Kansas series -- nicknamed the ''Border War'' -- at 8 tonight in Kansas City. The second-ranked Jayhawks (11-0) and No. 4 Tigers (10-1) will compete for the Big 12 North title and a trip to the conference championship, with a berth in the national championship game a possibility for the winner.

The Details
DAVE STECKEL
Age: 50
Job: Linebackers coach for No. 4-ranked University of Missouri
High school: Whitehall
College: Kutztown
Family: Wife Mary Beth, one daughter
Of note: He recruited quarterback Chase Daniel, finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award.

But when Steckel was asked how the rivalry compares to others he's been associated with over the years, he responded in perfect deadpan style: It's right up there with Fullerton-Hokendauqua, he said.

''He's a real funny guy,'' Daniel said. ''You've got to learn to like [his dry sense of humor]. He's an amazing person and an even better recruiter.''

Daniel, the 2004 EA Sports High School Player of the Year, knows this as well as anyone. He was a quarterback at Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas, when he first met Steckel, who recruits the Dallas area for the Tigers.

''He had a big role,'' Daniel said. ''Coach Steckel started off the recruiting. He was real up-front with me. He said, 'We want you to win championships.'''

''In all honesty, he was a winner,'' Steckel said, referring to Daniel's 31-1 record his final two years of high school. ''The kid's just a winner. But the thing that is neat about Chase is he's a better kid in person than he is as a football player.''

Steckel's championship hopes resonated with Daniel, who had grown up cheering for Texas.

A junior, Daniel has completed almost 70 percent of his passes this season for 3,590 yards, 30 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. He's one of three finalists for the Davey O'Brien Award, presented annually to the nation's top quarterback.

The situation has worked out quite well for Steckel, too.

Both will be part of history tonight when the Tigers and Jayhawks meet for the 116th time; that number is second only to Minnesota-Wisconsin (117 meetings) in Division I-A. But it is the first time both Missouri and Kansas are ranked in the top 10 at the time of the meeting.

Steckel learned of the rivalry as a child when his older brother, Les, played for Kansas. Les went on to become head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, as well as an assistant for several other NFL teams.

Still, Dave Steckel doesn't have a spare moment to consider the pre-game hype.

''I went to work at 5:30 a.m.,'' Steckel, a Whitehall High School graduate, said Monday night. ''I came back outside at 7:30 p.m. I didn't even know it was about 65 or 70 degrees outside.

''I'm sure the atmosphere Saturday will be great. We have great fans, a great fan base. [But] in coaching, you don't get caught up in all that.''

A 1982 Kutztown University graduate, Steckel has coached at eight colleges, including Lehigh. He first worked for Missouri coach Gary Pinkel during the 1990s at Toledo. Steckel joined the Missouri staff when Pinkel took over in 2001.

Steckel visits the Lehigh Valley every summer, but said Columbia, Mo., is another great place to raise a family. He and his wife, Mary Beth, have one daughter.

Pinkel, meanwhile, is happy to have Steckel on staff.

''He recruited Chase Daniel, so I think that's pretty good right there,'' Pinkel said. ''He's recruited a lot of other good players, too, but obviously, [Chase is] a very, very high level player.

''[Steckel's] probably been with me 11 of the 17 years I've been a head coach. He's a company man, gets along with his players well. He's a great football coach, smart guy and is a very, very good recruiter. He's a very relationship-oriented person.''

This week, of course, the defense's task is to find a way to slow the Jayhawks and sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing (2,920 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, four interceptions). In fact, the Tigers (506 yards per game) and Jayhawks (500) are ranked fourth and seventh nationally, respectively, in total offense.

Kansas has the second-ranked scoring defense, giving up only 14.2 points per game, and Missouri is 33rd in that category (23 per game).

Then again, Steckel said, statistics rarely tell the complete story.

''There's no one happier about our offense than our defense,'' Steckel said. ''I think it's just a beautiful mix we've got here. But it doesn't matter if you win 100-99