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Nebraska's win earned it more than just the right to the Nebraska-Missouri Bell this year.
Interestingly, Nebraska senior defensive end Adam Carriker said after the game he had never seen the Nebraska-Missouri Bell before except when playing the "NCAA Football" video games.
Similarly, those games are the only places Nebraska has seen a North Division title since 1999.
As fans and players are well aware, the Cornhuskers' 34-20 win Saturday was a crucial step in retaking the Big 12 Conference's North Division and playing for a league championship in December.
With one win in its next two games, the Huskers will punch their tickets to Kansas City, Mo., for the Big 12 title game on Dec. 2, probably against a certain familiar team in burnt orange.
The Huskers have made it clear from the beginning of the season that winning the North is goal numero uno for this team. This weekend's win will make that happen, barring an unforeseen loss at home to a hapless Colorado team in a few weeks.
So does that make Missouri the biggest win for NU Coach Bill Callahan in his nearly three years in Lincoln?
The short answer is "no." I still see Nebraska's win over Michigan in last year's Alamo Bowl as Callahan's best of his 20 with the Huskers. Not only was it an exciting game featured on national television, it also returned optimism and confidence to a program sorely in need of both at the time. (Oh, and in case you hadn't noticed, it's nearly the same Michigan team that's currently ranked No. 2 with a shot at a national championship.)
A win against Southern California or Texas this year would probably have been viewed as bigger wins on the national scene. But those games, had the Huskers won, would have been novelty wins against teams who, right now, have more talent.
Winning convincingly against Missouri is a sign that Nebraska might, just might, become a more consistent club.
That starts on the ground, where NU ran 47 times against the Tigers for 183 yards to dominate the time-of-possession category for the seventh time in 10 games this season. Compliment that with the efficiency of senior quarterback Zac Taylor, who completed 13 passes in 21 attempts, and there's a reason Callahan said his offense played the best he'd seen since the Colorado game in November 2005.
"It's a big win for our program," Callahan said. "I'm so happy for our kids. They've worked hard. They've practiced hard. They knew that we were on the verge of doing some good things."
Good things were definitely done on Homecoming Saturday, a more than ideal time to end a two-game losing streak. Homecomings have been good to the Huskers - last season's Texas Tech loss was the only setback in the last 38 games played on that day.
All in all, not a bad day to try ringing that old bell.
A couple other observations from what was a big day at Memorial Stadium:
n What was up with Mizzou quarterback Chase Daniel? His 20-for-38 passing performance for 244 yards and two touchdowns wasn't bad, but Tiger fans had become accustomed to more from their star QB than just 13 rushing yards on nine carries.
"He's not perfect," Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said.
n I have to shamelessly plug my former high school, Lincoln Southeast, for absolutely dominating the Homecoming festivities on Saturday. LSE alumni Jason Lowe and Laine Norton were crowned as king and queen of the campus, while on the field former Knight Bo Ruud, a junior linebacker, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble for the Huskers. Southeast alumnus and senior free safety Brandon Rigoni was on the pre-game video, and senior fullback Dane Todd once again was a blocking machine all game. Not a bad day for those who used to wear black and gold.
