[Husker] Where is the defense?

[Steve Reichenbach]

The AP story about the game noted that the 610 yards by Ball State was
the most offense by a NU opponent since Washington had 618 in 1991.  I
was at that game and it made an impression on me that NU (ranked #9)
played a whale of a game to keep it close but in the end Washington
(ranked #4) just had more talent.  NU showed heart that day but was
just beaten by a better team.  About that time, the level of talk about
the long slow decline of the Husker program was growing.  Folks were
unhappy when Miami blanked NU 22-0 in the Orange Bowl for NU's fifth
straight bowl loss and NU finished 9-2-1 (the tie 19-19 with CU at
Boulder).  Both Miami and Washington finished 12-0.  Many NU fans
were not satisfied with Osborne always having one, two, or three losses
and failing to win in the big games.  Even diehad fans wondered if NU
could ever return to the top.  Then, Osborne convinced fans (and
evidently Steve Pederson), perhaps unfortunately, that NU always should
be on top.