"It was Colorado. That was the day Missouri football returned," said former Missouri running back Brock Olivo.

The day was November 1st, 1997. Coach Larry Smith and his team beat Colorado 41- 31, clinching Missouri's first winning season since 1983.

"I wanted to be somewhere where we changed the regime, and that's what happened here," said former Missouri quarterback Corby Jones.

On Saturday, October 27th, Coach Smith's players came back to recognize an era.

"Back in the day, Larry was a god to us. He came in, out of the blue from USC, glamorous, college football. We had nothing here. From that day on it was like the pied piper arrived; he brought in ex-NFL players on the coaching staff and this whole new era started here at Missouri," Olivo said.

"It's huge. I never would have known at the time that it was going to carry on in life, you know later on in years. People bump into me and remember me and our class for being the ones that turned it around," former Missouri fullback Ron Janes said.

"Everything around you started with that man, wherever he is. Larry Smith. The rise of Missouri football on a national level started with Larry Smith," Olivo said.

It started with Larry, but carries on with Gary. The former Tigers think the current team can go a long way.

"I think these guys have a shot at doing a lot of things that we couldn't do," said Jones.

The last Tiger win in Boulder was big. The next one could be even bigger.