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I've seen it said a lot this week: This is the biggest game Gary Pinkel has ever coached at Missouri. This game is more important to the direction of the program than any other.

At first glance, I agreed with it all. I mean, the Tigers have the advantage over Colorado in every statistical category. They have a better rushing offense, better passing offense, better scoring offense, better passing defense, better rushing defense, better scoring defense. They have a better turnover margin. They punt the ball better. They kick the ball better. They're a better team. Period.

If Missouri can't win a game like this, what game can it win?

And, listen, I don't want to downplay the importance of this game. If the Tigers lose, they're not going to win the North. If they lose, every game on the schedule (outside, perhaps, of Baylor) looks like a possible to probable loss. If they lose, how can the players possibly carry a shred of confidence back to Columbia?

I get it. I get all of it.

But as sports fans, it sometimes amazes me how short our memories are. Notice I said "our" memories. I'm right there with you. Like I said, I had myself convinced this game would determine the future of Missouri football for seasons to come. And I guess it might. Except it won't.

First of all, I don't even know if it will determine the direction of Missouri football for days to come. Think about what we've seen this year in this sport: Washington beat USC. And then got run off the field by Stanford. Iowa nearly lost to Arkansas State. And hasn't lost since. Miami beat up Oklahoma. And then failed to even show up against Virginia Tech.

The best examples of week-to-week wackiness have been in the Big 12. Kansas State lost to Texas Tech by 52 points. The Wildcats came home seven days later and beat Texas A&M by 48 points. That's a 100-point swing in seven days. To add to the madness, the Aggies (who, using the transitive property of equality-the only thing I remember from eighth grade geometry-should have lost to Texas Tech by 100 points) came back to beat the Red Raiders by 22 points. In Lubbock. You think you've got this figured out? Great. I don't.

But it's more than that. Twenty months ago, Missouri played a game in which a win would have put them in the national championship game. And this one's bigger than that? Oh, how quickly we forget. Just in the last two calendar years, the Tigers have played in a clash of top five teams that was the most watched college football game in the country. They've played in two conference championship games, one of which could have put them in the national title tilt. They've played a game in which they had a chance to seize the No. 1 national ranking for the second time in ten months. An early afternoon bout of the two bottom teams in the worst BCS division in college football doesn't really compare.

Now, I know what you're thinking: Of course there is not more at stake this weekend than in those games. But regardless of the outcome of those games, you knew the Missouri program was on solid footing. If the Tigers lose in Boulder this weekend, you can't really say that anymore.

I get it. But does a loss to the Buffs mean Missouri can't win the next three? Not to me. Does a win, even if it's by 50 points, mean the Tigers can't lose the next three. I don't think so.

Sports fans get caught up in the moment. There's a tendency to try to dub everything "the best ever." But when you have some time pass, that's a label that usually doesn't apply. Let's look at a few examples:

*I've heard at least four times in my life that a Super Bowl was the best one ever played. I heard it after the Bills-Giants wide right, after the Titans-Rams, after the Rams-Patriots and after the Patriots-Giants. It can't be true all four times. (For the record, my vote goes to Rams-Titans).

*The 2005 USC-Texas game was called the best college football game of all-time by a lot of people. Was it? I don't even know if it was the best bowl game involving a Big 12 team over a 12-month period. I think Boise-Oklahoma was right there.

*Everybody wants to crown the biggest sports upset ever. George Mason getting to the Final Four. Tom Watson winning the British Open (I've blocked out the 18th on Sunday). The Devil Rays getting to the World Series. They were all amazing. The best ever? Hell of a statement. Might be some American Hockey players who could make a case.

Anyway, is Saturday the most important game in Missouri history? No. The most important in Pinkel's tenure? No. Those both happened on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2007. And I won't say that game will never be topped. Never is a long time. But it's not happening this week.

That said, might be a good idea to go ahead and win this one. Just because it's not the biggest game of all-time doesn't mean it's not monumentally important to the future of the program.

Nobody will cover the Tigers this season like PowerMizzou.com. If you are not yet a member, just try out our free seven-day trial.