College Football: Must-See Game No. 10 is Illinois vs. Missouri

With less than 100 days before the start of the college football season, stadiums are selling out, hotels are being booked, and soon it will be time to see the biggest of 2008. Over the next 10 weeks, I will be ranking the Top 10 must-see games of this college football season.

This is the No. 10 game of this college football season.

The Arch Rivalry is the college football game between Illinois and Missouri. This game is not played annually, but it is scheduled as the opening game for each team through the 2010 season.

In this series, Missouri leads 14-7. The game will be played on Aug. 30 in St. Louis at the Edward Jones Dome. The last time these two teams met, Missouri won 40-34.

Missouri

Missouri ended its 2007 season with a big win over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. Missouri had a great season with a record of 11-2, producing a Heisman Trophy runner-up in Chase Daniel. The Tigers' two losses came against Oklahoma, but they had big wins against Kansas, Texas Tech, and Illinois. With Chase Daniel coming back for his senior year, Missouri looks good for the 2008 season.

Missouri will be a team to watch this year. Stepping out of the shadow of Oklahoma and Texas, Missouri has a chance to go back to the Big XII Championship game. 

Missouri will have to play Texas, Kansas, and up-and-coming Nebraska in its 2008 season.

The Tigers have a lot of talent coming back and should make a run for a BCS Championship.

Illinois

Illinois ended its 2007 season with a hard loss in the Rose Bowl to USC. It was amazing that they even went to the Rose Bowl. The Illini in the past couple of season had really bad seasons, finishing last in the Big Ten.

But it all changed in 2007. The Illini started its season with a loss to Missouri but bounced back quickly. Illinois won big games against Penn State, Wisconsin, and the No. 1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The Illini ended its season with a record of 9-4.

Illinois lost its starting RB Rashard Mendenhall, and it's going to be hard for the Illini to replace him, but Juice Williams and Arrellious Benn are coming back.

I don’t really know if Illinois will have a chance to go back to a BCS bowl game, but it will be an exciting team to watch this season.

This game will be very exciting to watch. Last year's game really took this rivalry to a different level.

The Tigers looked good coming off their big win over Arkansas. They come in with a high power offense featuring Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin, Tommy Saunders, and Danario Alexander. And a hard nosed defensive line in Tommy Chavis, Ziggy Hood, and Stryker Sulak.

This game is going to be a challenge for both teams, but I think Missouri is just too much for Illinois to handle. Missouri wins big in their season opener.

Prediction: 42-14 Missouri