No one-play what-ifs, referees mistakes or statistical anomalies for the Griffons to lean on in this contest. This was 60-minutes of domination that could've been even uglier on the scoreboard had Nebraska-Omaha not stunted its attack with turnovers. And after so thorough a beating, I don't think the Griffons can sit back and say, 'We're a really good team, and we're on the verge of breaking through.'

Once again, Western had no answer for an opponent's rushing attack and had no run rebuttal on offense either. It's cliché but still applies in the age of the spread offense: run the ball and stop the run to be successful. The Griffons can't do either right now.

--- With that in mind, Western just has to make its peace with living and dying on the arm of Drew Newhart. The Griffons stubbornly kept trying to pound the ball in the first half, becoming predictable and ineffective. Look, you're 2-5 and have no shot at the postseason. Throw the ball all over the field. Newhart is going to turn the ball over, but that's the Griffons' best chance to beat good teams right now.

--- That transitions nicely into Western's final drive of the first half. With 1:10 left, the Griffons intercepted Zach Miller in the end zone to stop a UNO drive. Instead of trying for points down 7-0 with one of the best kickers in the conference, Western ran the ball three times to get to halftime. Once again, look at your record and opponent. Just go for it. And the amusing thing about the whole situation is the Griffons couldn't run out the clock and still had to punt and defend for a play to get to halftime.

And to finish, a few off-the-beat items...

--- Saturday's crowd – an announced attendance of 5,198 – was pretty disappointing for a homecoming game. The home stands were only about 40 percent full at kickoff and didn't fill up much more after that. I guess a loss to Truman lightens the band wagon considerably.

--- Saturday's game lasted three hours thanks to a homecoming halftime and TV timeouts – a Division I wait without a Division I game.

--- And in closing, a quick lesson in phonetics for the PA announcers of the conference. If a vowel precedes a consonant in the middle of a word, it's pronounced as a long vowel. Examples: kite, bike, write. But if there are two consonants, it's pronounced as a short vowel. Examples: fiddle, little, saddle.

So in the case of Western linebacker Sean Whiters, it's pronounced White-ers, not Whitt-ers – as every PA announcer except Washburn's (whom I spoke with before the game) has done. Whiters is only a sophomore and is going to be pretty darn good. Learn his name. White-ers.