WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind – They were trademarks of last season’s success, a Randy Walker production that cemented several simple but ingenious themes into his players’ minds.

Prior to the team’s 2000 opener with Northern Illinois, Walker went out and purchased black T-shirts for each one of his players. The shirts contained one-word messages such as “Trust” and “Finish,” designed to remind players what Northwestern football was all about.

And it worked.

It was cause for concern if a player did not show up for a postgame news conference without one of these shirts superglued to his chest. Something was amiss if Damien Anderson or Kevin Bentley didn’t answer 10 or 15 questions with the word “trust.” Win or lose, these themes revealed themselves again and again — at every practice, in every interview and during every game.

Trust and finish were the mission statements for a team built around a talented running back, a core of experienced defensive leaders and an ingrained ability to win close football games.

Trust was on Kevin Bentley’s mind when he plucked a fumble out of midair and shuffled 50 yards for a season-turning score against Wisconsin. Finish was on Zak Kustok’s mind when he heaved a 45-yard slingshot to Sam Simmons (via Kunle Patrick) to cap an improbable comeback against Minnesota. Winning was on the Wildcats’ minds throughout a four-hour nerve-wracker against Michigan.

This all came to mind on Saturday, right about the time when Raheem Covington took off for a 60-yard celebratory jog to paydirt without the football in his mitts. It came to mind when Marvin Brown climbed the back of a Boilermakers wideout in the end zone, giving Purdue a 1st-and-goal at the 1. It came to mind when Dominique Price couldn’t clamp down on Montrell Lowe’s ankles, letting the Purdue runner stumble past the chains, flipping the switch on NU’s valiant comeback campaign.

Now those mishaps — or any others that have befallen NU this season — have not resulted from lack of effort. These guys are playing their hearts out this year, and their struggles could easily be chalked up to bad luck or a few key mistakes at inopportune times. But seven games into the 2001 season, it’s clear that this plague originates from a much deeper source.

This team is in an identity crisis right now. In sports you need a foundation to feed off, a core of principles to define how you act and perform. Last year’s team had that — players trusted each other and they trusted Walker’s message. Win or lose, that team felt in control. The panic button was never pushed and it knew that somehow things would work out every time.

With 15 starters returning for 2001, it seemed only natural to carry that attitude through another season.

Hasn’t happened.

Those “Trust” shirts and catch phrases are now absent from the conferences, practices and games. NU players have worn a yearlong look of frustration and confusion on their faces.

They were the Big Ten co-champs, the consensus favorites to repeat, and they don’t feel anything has changed — but it has. And Saturday’s game was crystal-clear proof.

There was no longer someone to step up and force that key fumble, break free for that 80-yard run or recover that onside kick. Walker is right when he says how football games are won on playmaking, but execution is directly correlated with having a solid identity and belief — and the Cats don’t have that right now.

Part of the problem may be an overemphasis on carving their own path this season.

“We said in January that the success we had in the year 2000 won’t get us the first first down or make the first defensive stop,” Walker said. “Now we got 11 Saturdays to do something about it and make a statement.”

Making new statements is fine, but you can’t forget where you came from.

All the pieces are in place, but this team needs to huddle up and decide what it’s made of.

Pulling out an old t-shirt may be a good first step.