When I was a student at Missouri University back in the halcyon days of 15-cent hamburgers, black-and-white television and spiffy Studebakers, I did some pretty stupid things.

Once a buddy and I explored one of the numerous caves south of Columbia with a flashlight so low on battery power we were almost forced to become bat men. Pretty stupid.

Another time, my roommate and I decided it might be fun to drive around Francis Quadrangle. That’s roughly equivalent to driving up to the front door of Strong Hall on the KU campus. As you would expect, our experiment in off-road driving was frowned upon by the constabulary. Really stupid.

And yet I never even contemplated doing something as incredibly stupid as running onto the field after an emotional football victory and taunting a member of the vanquished team.

Yet, that’s exactly what a Mizzou fan did after the Tigers snapped their 24-year losing streak against Nebraska Saturday in Columbia. The NU player responded with what appeared to be a cross between a right jab and a forearm shiver.

Now the MU taunter is talking about filing assault charges against the Nebraska player, whose gut reaction already has cost him a one-game suspension. At the same time, Missouri officials say they’re considering whether to file trespassing charges against the fan, as they should — even though it’s unlikely to stop such idiocy.

Poor Missouri. When it rains it pours. First, the Ricky Clemons brouhaha and now this. What’s next? Will Mizzou be sued because its mascot is the same as the animal that attacked Roy of Siegfried and Roy?

Speaking of idiocy, how about me picking Texas to knock off Oklahoma last week? Dumb. And Nebraska to whump Missouri? Well, that wasn’t so dumb. Nobody expected that. I also picked Kansas University over Colorado and, let’s face it, that game could have gone either way.

I went 3-3 for my low point of the season. However, just like the Jayhawks, I plan to bounce back this week. If you think I won’t, go to kusports.com, click on the Wanna Whack Woodling icon and you might win a coveted “We Whacked Woodling” T-shirt.

¢Whack Woodling: 2003 season, week 8

Here are this week’s Big 12 Conference picks:

Iowa State 29, Texas 18 — Iowa State rebounds from surrendering 775 yards to Texas Tech by stunning Longhorns, still in funk after that Oklahoma clobbering in the Cotton Bowl.

Nebraska 33, Texas A&M 6 — Nobody wants to play Nebraska in Lincoln after the Huskers just lost a big one on the road. Unfortunately for the Aggies, it’s them. Those 73 points A&M scored against Baylor last week will be a mere memory.

Kansas State 55, Colorado 23 — Wildcats have rolled an unexpected turkey with three straight losses, but they’ll tear the gizzards out of the Buffaloes, whose defense is so bad you’d swear they had only 10 players on the field.

Oklahoma State 49, Texas Tech 46 — Everybody thought before the season Kansas State-Colorado would be the Big 12’s prime-time game this weekend. Who would have thunk the Raiders and the Cowboys would be the premier match? Cowboys won’t stop Tech QB B.J. Symons, but ‘Pokes have enough offense to outscore the rampaging Red Raiders.

Oklahoma 55, Missouri 5 — Welcome back to earth, Mizzou. Sooners won’t spoil their national-title hopes by tanking against the Tigers. OU defense will chew up QB Brad Smith and spit him out.

Kansas 41, Baylor 22 — With only one home game in October, Jayhawks will be delighted to turn Bears into fall foliage. Baylor sometimes tough at home, but Lean Green has never won a Big 12 road game.