MU finding little comfort in string of near-misses

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- So close, and yet so far.

Missouri's second-year coach, Gary Pinkel, appears to be on the verge of turning the program around. Week in and week out, the Tigers are competitive.

They've put scares into No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 21 Iowa State and No. 18 Colorado, losing by a touchdown each time. They led in the second half against Iowa State last week and Colorado on Saturday.

But, the bottom line isn't pretty. Missouri's record, 4-6 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12, makes the program appear as if it's still on the skids.

That's how tough it is to climb the ladder in one of the nation's top conferences.

Pinkel, a success on the mid-major level at Toledo, is convinced he'll get the job done at Missouri, which is closing in on its 17th losing season in 19 years and has lost 17 in a row to ranked opponents. Right now, possibilities are small consolation.

"We're close, but it's all about winning," Pinkel said after Saturday's 42-35 overtime loss to Colorado. "There's not a magical answer for it except just keep working and persevering and getting through it."

As heartbreaking as the recent losses have been, and Saturday's was the worst of the lot, Pinkel will take them over the alternative of losing big. He had enough of that last year as players seemed to struggle embracing the new program, getting outscored 79-10 the final two games at Kansas State and Michigan State.

"Are we going to become a much better team next year and the next year? I don't think there's any question about that," Pinkel said. "I feel awesome about our program. But that doesn't help this."

Moral victories, he's having none of. Missouri rallied from a 27-7 deficit to take a 28-27 lead at one point Saturday, but created its own misfortune with a poor first half.

"We're competing, but when around here do you pass an award out because you compete?" Pinkel said. "For some reason people think we tried hard in the second half. Why wouldn't we?

"If you've got any heart or any character, if you're a competitor, you should fight."

Players are doing a good job of keeping their chins up. Wide receiver Darius Outlaw got a sympathetic reception after fumbling away the Tigers' overtime possession to end the game, which left a Faurot Field crowd in stunned silence. And players on offense insist they're not getting tired of carrying the load for a porous defense that surrendered 575 yards on Saturday.

"The game of football is a team game," wide receiver Justin Gage said. "You can't point fingers at the defense."

Some day soon, players believe, this team will get over the hump.

"It's getting smaller and you can see it as we progress every week," Outlaw said. "The last five weeks have been tough on us, these last-minute losses.

"We've just got to play hard from the first minute to the fourth quarter and then everything else should fall into place."