When driving back from my buddy’s place after Thursday’s mind-numbing loss, I started to smell something. The problem was that it did not smell like baby powder slapped onto a infant’s butt, freshly cut grass on a midsummer’s day or my mother’s made-from-scratch chicken parmigiana. Heck, it did not even smell like the overbearing perfume emanating from the girl you just met at Whataburger at 3 a.m.

The 2007 season was burning, and it started to suffocate the hopes and dreams of this season. Funky-perfume-girl sounds pretty good right about now.

If the Texas loss Sept. 8 was a swift kick to the groin, then Thursday’s overtime defeat must have felt like Air Force punted your dog into the Trinity River.

I am not going to touch on this a lot, but when has throwing the ball in the final minute of a tie game on the opponent’s 22-yard line ever been a good idea? When has driving drunk ever been acceptable? How about making out with your buddy’s girlfriend? I mean, you wouldn’t even run that play in Madden or NCAA Football on PS2, let alone in a real game against real Division I players.

It is almost as if the offensive coaching staff watched the “Seinfeld” episode in which George Costanza does the opposite of what he has always done before the fourth quarter.

“If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right,” Jerry Seinfeld tells Costanza.

Wrong.

So as the 2007 season seems to be burning, a red and black fire extinguisher of hope is sprinting toward Amon G. Carter Stadium.

SMU was on the schedule. Honestly, I like to say “Smoo” in honor of Stephen Colbert, so let’s go with that.

If anything can snap Horned Frogs nation out of the collective rut it has been in the past two weeks, beating a dead horse of a program in the Mustangs – pun intended – is a good way to get the season back on track. Not to mention the Frogs should come into Saturday’s game looking to take back what’s rightfully theirs: their pride. Oh, and the Iron Skillet would be nice too.

After watching “Smoo” give up 45 points to Arkansas State and seeing Phil Bennett’s unintentionally funny facial expressions after the game, it should make TCU fans feel grateful for the type of program Gary Patterson has built during his tenure. By the way, I never would have guessed that Arkansas State would make it into two columns.

I mean, come on. This is TCU football. The Frogs are better than that “football” being played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.

With that being said, this game is Smoo’s season. Just swap out “Baptists” for “Methodists,” and this is the Baylor game all over again – except that might be giving the Mustangs too much credit.

Putting out the fire of the losing streak and taking back the Iron Skillet is needed more than Lindsay Lohan needs designer drugs, and it is the next step in a season that has left more questions than answers.

Horned Frogs nation needs this. If anything, please Febreze the lingering smell of the last two games.