Tigers trained to tune out media

Stay off the Internet. Change the channel on the television. Don’t even bother turning to the sports page in the newspapers.

Those are the messages that coach Gary Pinkel and the seniors on the No. 19 Tigers have been delivering to the team all season. Now, with the increase in national recognition and rising expectations for the immediate future of the program, that message is taking on even more importance before Missouri plays at Texas A&M on Saturday.

“I think that would be wise to be cautious of (the team becoming overconfident),” Pinkel said. “I don’t think there’s any question about it especially with a program that’s not used to winning like this. So there’s no question that’s something I’ll work with the seniors with.”

It’s something the seniors and Pinkel have worked with since before the season began. They’ve adopted a strict one-game-at-a-time policy. The schedules were ripped from the walls of the locker room. Perhaps most importantly, the message to keep a healthy perspective has been communicated to the underclassmen on the team with regularity.

Keeping the underclassmen on the task at hand has been difficult at times, though, said senior wide receiver Brad Ekwerekwu.

“It is, but at the same time they look up to us and respect us so they know that we’ve been here before,” Ekwerekwu said. “And they’ve seen our previous journeys and how maybe we had different approaches in the past that didn’t quite work out for us. But now, it’s a different attitude. And I think they embrace that, and I think they know that we’re setting a standard and they’re getting a feel for that.”

Ekwerekwu said that part of that attitude adjustment comes with breaking down the season to a week-by-week approach. Ekwerekwu and the rest of the seniors continually call it the “1-0” philosophy, which not only keeps the season to one game at a time, but keeps the approach positive.

That philosophy has resonated with the underclassmen, especially with the team reaping immediate rewards in the form of victories.

“They have a great pride in that because they came up with the whole 1-0 thing and keeping us on task,” said freshman Del Howard. “That’s a big thing for us. After every game they talk to us and tell us the game is over with and we’ve got the next game on the schedule to take care of.”

But there’s a fine line between exercising caution in order to stay grounded and jubilation over earning respect. Senior David Overstreet, who played a major role in the team’s attitude refinement, was one of the loudest Tigers after the victory against Texas Tech. Shouting “We are for real baby!” after the victory, it became obvious that even the seniors were thinking about the local and national perception of the team.

His teammates said the outburst wasn’t Overstreet overstepping the team’s philosophy.

“That’s just about respect,” linebacker Dedrick Harrington said. “You want to be respected not only as a team but as a man. We know we need to take it one game at a time but we know we’re legit, too. So that was just about respect.”

INJURY UPDATE: As it turns out, cornerback Domonique Johnson’s season is not over. Johnson was thought to be lost for the season with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament. But, after the swelling around the knee went down and doctors took a scope at the injured area Tuesday morning, it was revealed that the ligament wasn’t torn, just sprained. Pinkel said Johnson could return to the field as early as a few weeks.

“He woke up and he was a happy guy,” Pinkel said. “It’s great for him and it’s great for our football team.”

GAMETIME: Missouri’s Homecoming game against Kansas State on Oct. 21 will start at 1 p.m. The game will not be shown on pay-per-view.