COLUMBIA, MO. — Even as the oddities of the Big 12 North suggest Mizzou somehow still could emerge in the thick of a race that could as easily end in a six-way 4-4 tie as have one team gallop away, even as that carrot still gives the Tigers something worth playing for amid their dismal October, the flip side of all that has come to the forefront:

With MU being outscored 101-36 in Big 12 play and 0-3 for the first time in seven years, the prospect of rebounding seems more a matter of hope than grounded in the realities of the season.

"What we're doing right now isn't Mizzou," linebacker Will Ebner said.

At some point, though, you are who your record says you are. And right now Mizzou is 4-3 and alone in last place in a division led by surprising Kansas State (3-2) with Iowa State (2-2) in second.

Yes, Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel made a point of noting last week that a veteran Tiger squad in 2008 — a team that entered the season projected to be a national title contender — had mustered just a 1-2 record in the same first three Big 12 games last year.

Left unsaid was that the rest of MU's schedule seemingly is less daunting, beginning at Colorado (2-5, 1-2) on Saturday as the Tigers try to do an extreme makeover of their season.

"It's Halloween, right?" linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said, smiling and adding, "Maybe we should get a new uniform or something."

Yet after a 41-7 loss to Texas on Saturday that was MU's most lopsided home defeat since a 38-0 blowout by Kansas State in 2002, Pinkel's first season, a dejected Pinkel was more focused on the miserable moment.

MU is playing poorly, period.

"I can't be more disappointed," said Pinkel, later adding, "I don't care who we're playing. I don't care if it's the New England Patriots. I expect us to play better than that."

While the Tigers clearly were outmanned by Texas in a 35-7 first half, they also self-destructed in the final minutes of the second quarter with a chance to get back in the game.

After cutting it to 21-7 when an 81-yard drive ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Blaine Gabbert to Jared Perry with 5 minutes, 53 seconds left in the half, MU squandered the opportunity by immediately letting Texas mosey 87 yards to make it 28-7 on another of a series of defensive backfield breakdowns.

"We had one guy on the wrong page," Weatherspoon said.

Weatherspoon said a lack of communication left cornerback Carl Gettis getting "the wrong call."

Perhaps more problematically, Gettis also was seen on television jawing with defensive coordinator Dave Steckel.

He played sparingly, if at all, in the second half and was not available after the game despite requests from several media outlets.

Just over a minute after that touchdown, Texas blocked a punt in the end zone for another, essentially ending the game at halftime. Weatherspoon said he had never seen Pinkel like he was at halftime, presumably irate.

"You've got to give Missouri credit," Texas quarterback Colt McCoy said, though it was unclear why.

Most of the 10th-largest crowd in school history, 71,004, was long gone by game's end.

Now Mizzou has to ensure that its season isn't long gone, starting at Colorado, which the Tigers have beaten by a 113-10 margin the last two seasons.

"You never want to be 0-3," said quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who said his gimpy ankle won't keep him out of the game. "But the way things have kind of played out, the Big 12 North is still wide open."

The way things have been played out by Mizzou, though, the Tigers are a long way from exploiting the opening.