It has been long discussed that Illinois football has no true traditional college rivalry.

There is no Aaron Burr to our Alexander Hamilton. There is no Joker to our Batman. There is no Hamburglar to our Ronald McDonald.

But what about all those “Muck Fichigan” shirts? Aren’t the Michigan Wolverines our rivals?

Well let’s just say there are only three things certain in life: You will be born, you will die and you will hate Michigan.

So can we truly call it a rivalry when everyone else hates the team we hate most? Not to mention Michigan has its sights set on targets bigger than the traditionally lowly Illini football program. It does take two to tango after all.

Although more traditional rivals may develop within the Big Ten conference as the Illini football team continues its rise to national respectability, Saturday’s game against the Mizzou Tigers in St. Louis has all the makings of a classic rivalry brawl.

The first and most obvious ingredient of a rivalry is the significance of the game. Although neither team’s season is completely on the line this weekend, there are some huge implications tied to the outcome.

Mizzou is ranked No. 6 and a loss would seriously hurt its dreams of getting the chance to participate in the annual right of destroying Ohio State in the National Championship Game. Meanwhile, for No. 20 Illinois, a win would help erase the nightmares of last season’s Rose Bowl beat down and get the young team’s confidence back – something it will need to win against the other three top-25 teams on its schedule this season.

“It’s not going to make or break a team for a whole season,” said senior linebacker and defensive leader Brit Miller. “But it’s going to be one of those games that people remember for a long time because you have a stage.”

The big stage for Saturday’s game will be the sold-out Edward Jones Dome (66,965 seats), and the stadium will be packed with fans wearing orange and gold. For those who can’t make it to St. Louis, ESPN has decided to broadcast the game on its main channel during the primetime slot against ABC’s Michigan State at California game (I wonder which game will be better? Hmmm.).

Fans often provide the most fuel for any rivalry fire, and it appears the fan bases for both schools are pumping this one with high-octane gasoline.

Fans from both sides will also be watching another important aspect of any rivalry: star power.

Both schools have big-time quarterbacks in Juice Williams and Chase Daniel. They also have young play-making receivers in Arrelious Benn and Jeremy Maclin.

“He’s like a Vontae Davis on offense,” Miller said about Mizzou’s Maclin. “Vontae on Vontae. I love it.”

These teams also feature speed, and lots of it. Expect tons of points to be scored and lots of plays to be made on both sides of the ball. Everyone on the field will be showcasing their next-level talent, so if speed kills then consider the Edward Jones Dome a crime scene.

So as you can see, there is a lot to be excited about for the Illini this weekend, but I still wasn’t sold on the importance of the game.

After all, Illinois lost last season and everything turned out fine for it in the end. But then I got to talk to some of the players Monday after practice.

Coming off the field, Benn’s eyes were blood red with pure rage and unbridled anger toward the Missouri Tigers … or maybe it was just because he was wearing those contact lenses that help players see the ball better. Either way, you could see the focus on his face.

“It would be really big for Illini Nation, period, for us to come out and beat Missouri,” Benn said after commenting about how nervous and excited he was to just study film of his opponents. “We’re always going to be the underdog until we prove something.”

Miller, with a Mohawk haircut resembling that of UFC fighter Chuck Liddell, expressed his excitement in the Illinois-Missouri game saying, “I grew up watching that game and it’s great to be a part of that.”

Miller and Benn also said they were very excited to get the chance to play against almost the same Missouri team as they did last year and try to avenge last season’s loss.

While it would have been very easy for both players to dismiss Missouri as “just another game,” the focus and excitement in their voices was too hard to ignore. When the players recognize the importance of a game, it’s easy to see how much it really means.

So while the truth of the matter is that this game has almost no significance in either team’s chances to win their conferences and the overall series has been mostly dominated by the Tigers (14-7), we may be witnessing the birth of a new rivalry.

Both these teams gained national recognition last year after starting the 2007 season with little fanfare. Both teams have star players more than capable of dominating at the professional level. Both teams have been pulling in big recruits over the past few years. And most importantly, both teams are challenging the traditional powerhouses of their respective conferences.

Fortunately for the fans, the road to success in 2008 for both teams has to go through each other. So perhaps Illinois football has finally found its Hamburglar, if only for one night.

Kyle Betts is a graduate student. He can be reached at [email protected].