"It's almost here," head football coach Gary Patterson exclaimed, in reference to the upcoming game with Oklahoma.Patterson has a different outlook on this game from what he had for last year's season opener against Northwestern.

"Last year our players didn't know much about themselves," Patterson said. "They were still in the process of learning and figuring themselves out. This year it's a lot different -- our starters out there are experienced."

Senior quarterback Tye Gunn said he knows Oklahoma's defensive line will come out fired up.

Skiff misses mark covering KatrinaIn the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of thousands of poor souls in Louisiana and Mississippi are now homeless, out of work and searching for food, clean water...

Anything we can do to return the survivors of Hurricane Katrina to some sense of normalcy is vital.For this reason, the Skiff commends TCU, Southern Methodist University, Texas Southern University, Rice University and the Houston public school system for allowing students displaced by Katrina to enroll late and attend these institutions.

However, students attending TCU will have to pay tuition here in addition to that paid to their respective universities.

Ok. So eating back at school is quite a change from having mom serve up dinner every night at 6. Many students struggle with regulating what they eat when they're at school so as to not gain or lose too much weight while keeping up with their diet.Gaining weight in college is not a myth. According to a study conducted over several years at Tufts University, men gain an average of 6 pounds their first year of college while women gain on average 4.5 pounds.

Some faculty members are dissatisfied with their limited office space and the distance between their offices and classrooms, but university officials say they are taking steps to remedy the situation.Four AddRan departments have all of their faculty offices in Reed Hall, but there are only 11 classrooms in the building, associate professor of history Kathryne McDorman said.

"Our classes are scattered all over campus," she said.

Adrian Peterson and the Oklahoma Sooners offense are only a couple of the many tests the TCU defense will face this season in a schedule filled with unfamiliar opponents.The Horned Frogs will look to improve on its 99th ranking in total team defense from last season, and experience may be the key to improving that ranking since the TCU defense includes a majority of juniors and seniors.

TCU students, faculty, staff and fans need to mind their manners in the Mountain West Conference.In compliance with the Mountain West Conference Sportsmanship Initiative, TCU is required to run an ad informing the TCU community of its expected behaviors at conference events.

"The Sportsmanship Initiative has always been a front-burning topic," said Javan Hedlund, assistant commissioner of communications for the MWC.

According to the MWC handbook, "All members of the conference are expected to exhibit ethical behavior at all NCAA and conference competition."