Waco, Texas ? The Kansas University athletic department has a sports psychologist on staff. It’s time to put her to work for the football team, given the assignment of finding out just what it is that makes this bunch so uncomfortable with prosperity.

In the wake of the most astonishing collapse yet, one in which KU surrendered an 18-point lead Saturday with less than 10 minutes remaining, it’s obvious the problems extend beyond personnel, injuries and strategies, beyond the tangible and into the gray matter.

Someone needed to spell it out without a hint of evasiveness, and Jon Cornish did so after a 36-35 loss to Baylor University at Floyd Casey Stadium.

“It wasn’t them,” Cornish said. “It was us. It was our mistakes that lost us the game.”

Again.

There should be no sheltering these guys from what has become an extremely embarrassing reality: They choke. It’s not a nice word to use in sports, but it’s impossible to cure a problem until recognizing it exists.

Marcus Herford dropped six points, badly overthrew six points in the form of a wide-open Brian Murph in the end zone and mishandled a kick or two. The defense again softened at the end, too fearful of making a mistake to make a play.

It’s time for coach Mark Mangino to swing the locker-room doors open after games, let the reporters talk to whomever they feel like talking to and stop worrying about what they say. Players doing interviews while standing on eggshells is no way for a team to rid itself of fear. Cornish is so critical to the team’s success he can speak his mind without fear of benching. How many others can say the same?

Moments after Mangino, in his vague manner of speaking when the topic is injury, said he shuffled Cornish in and out of the game in the fourth quarter because he was battling injury, Cornish said he felt better than he had at any time since the first week. Too much secrecy is not a good thing.

The atmosphere around the program is too fraught with tension, which leads to too much tentative play late in games.

The current way of doing business isn’t working, otherwise a sea of college students wearing green-and-gold T-shirts and blue jeans wouldn’t have stormed the field after a wild comeback victory, and KU wouldn’t be heading into its final four games with a 3-5 overall record and an 0-4 record in the Big 12, even though it had a second-half lead in every game.

In the past three weeks, the KU defense has surrendered 54 fourth-quarter points. In four Big 12 games, the Jayhawks have allowed 14 touchdown passes, three thrown in the fourth quarter Saturday by Baylor senior quarterback Shawn Bell.

Operating out of a no-huddle offense in the fourth quarter, Bell and his magnificent receivers, most notably Dominique Zeigler, made it look easier than it’s supposed to look both to move the ball down the field and stop the clock with sideline passes.

Twice during the final drive, the officials reviewed plays, as if to prolong the agony of the inevitable Kansas loss. Both times, after the official announced “the play stands,” the stands erupted.

KU led by 17 points in the third quarter against Oklahoma State a week ago and by 18 points against Baylor. If the Jayhawks take a 19-point lead against Colorado, fasten your seat belt and shut your eyes.