Ross Pilkington, Nebraska's second-leading receiver this season, has been held without a reception in each of the last two games.

Part of the reason might be that opponents have adjusted to the slant route that had been so effective for Pilkington earlier in the season.

Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan, who calls the plays, said Kansas State's defense, for instance, made it difficult to complete the slant route Saturday because the Wildcats played Pilkington physically at the line of scrimmage.

"When people physically get their hands on you and disrupt your timing — that's where it becomes tougher," Callahan said. "What we saw last week was a little tougher. So, as a receiver, you have to have a plan in your mind in the pre-snap. When you see the ‘bump' corner up there at the line, you have to anticipate the worst thing happening to you — and you have to be able to get off of the line.

"That's the key. In football, you have to beat the ‘bump' to win."

Pilkington, who has 20 receptions for 266 yards, has been slowed by hamstring and foot injuries of late, Callahan said.

"To his credit, he's battled as hard as he can to overcome that," Callahan said. "But he's not where he was earlier in the season, or in training camp for that matter."

GOOD MORNING: If a late-morning kickoff is good for Nebraska's all-time tackles leader, perhaps it's good for the rest of the team. "I like it — I hate waiting around," Husker middle linebacker Barrett Ruud said in discussing the 11:10 a.m. start time for Saturday's home game against Missouri. "The wakeup call on game day can be kind of early, but I get up early most of the time anyway. With night games, when it's prime time, those are pretty cool once or twice a year. But I hate waiting in an apartment all day or a hotel all day. In high school, at least you'd be in school all day, then you'd come home and only have about three hours before you'd play. With these morning games, you wake up at 6:30 or 7 and eat and then go play."

LEADERSHIP: Callahan said Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson has shown strong leadership throughout the Huskers' recent struggles on the field. "He's reiterated to me to stay upbeat and positive, which I am — he doesn't need to say that — but he goes out of his way to say that, and that's a mark of a real sound leader," Callahan said.

QUOTABLE: "There's always urgency. We practice hard. We demand a lot out of these players, and there's no doubt they want to improve from last week in every aspect of their play. They came out to play today. They're loose. They're ready to go" — Callahan, when asked Wednesday if his team is practicing this week with a greater sense of urgency in the wake of last week's 45-21 loss at Kansas State.

— Steven M. Sipple