Same song, third verse: keep the other team in the game until late in the fourth quarter and force your star QB to take another pounding. We have an offense that tends to sputter at times but plays well when it has to. The defense is in disarray -- when ol' Sage can ring up 350 on you, you have problems. We stopped the run and were helpless against the pass. This against a team with a balanced offense. We missed FGs and didn't cover onside kicks.

And now the good news: another great game from Crouch and Wistrom. Bobby was more involved and we got a better pass rush. Our offense looks so good at times and disappears at others. I hope our problem is that we play to the level of our competition. Iowa State, Missouri and Iowa are all about the same caliber. You can tell that from their games against each other and Michigan State. Our games with all three followed the same pattern. I think our team needs a big game to get motivated.

We lack confidence and Frank is scared calling plays because he can't make a mistake. The defense doesn't give him the confidence to be aggressive. Texas Tech is a passing team and will give us a good test to get ready for Oklahoma. We need to play a dominating game and get our swagger back. I know I say this every week , but something is missing on this team and I think it is confidence. We have time to get better -- in other years our team took up to half the season to gel. Let's hope they do it soon before it is too late.

 
-- The Colonel