Well, at least Nebraska enters Saturday's football game against Missouri with some recent experience in facing a mobile quarterback.

If you're looking to glean anything positive from the Huskers' 45-21 loss to Kansas State, in which the defense surrendered 147 rushing yards to backup quarterback Allen Webb, that might be a good place to start.

"I'm sure (Missouri is) going to look at that film and see what Kansas State did well on us and probably try to do some of the same things," Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said.

Missouri features one of the Big 12 Conference's most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in Brad Smith.

Yes, statistics indicate Smith has been kept a bit under wraps this season. He's averaged 4.2 yards per carry — very ordinary, compared to his 6.6 yards-per-carry average in 2003. His longest run this season has been a modest 34 yards.

Then again, Smith is facing a Nebraska defense that couldn't slow down, much less stop Webb, a reserve quarterback whose option runs and quarterback counters made outsiders wonder why K-State faithful feared Webb's presence in the first place.

Coaches say NU practiced for Webb and the option all last week but couldn't simulate K-State's speed and talent.

Now, with an actual game against a mobile quarterback, what issues are coaches working on in preparation for Smith and the Tigers?

Well, tackling, for starters. Cosgrove said missed tackles led to 212 yards of extra yardage against Kansas State — yards the Wildcats gained after breaking initial contact from Nebraska defenders.

"It becomes an open-field thing, when a quarterback like that gets in space, being able to get him down, one-on-one," Cosgrove said. "Especially if you're in zone coverage, you've got people dropping, and all of the sudden, he pulls the ball down and starts running with it. You've got to get him down in space.

"You try to keep the rush lanes, but yet you don't want those guys to play cautious and stay at the line of scrimmage. They're going to throw the football, too. Having an athletic quarterback does create some problems."

Nebraska linebacker Stewart Bradley — noting the Blackshirts had 33 missed tackles against K-State — said defenders need to focus on being set in their gaps against a mobile quarterback.

"You need to stay at home and be alert," Bradley said. "Even though the ball's 30 yards away from you, you can still be in a play."

Bradley said the missed-tackle count against K-State was "a surprisingly high number." He also noted the numerous assignment busts and mental errors.

"If we would've played more sound defense in the first quarter, it would've turned the whole game around," Bradley said. "We have the ability to be sound tacklers. Ever since the Texas Tech game, we've really tried to get aggressive, tried to make plays. But you need to stay within yourself and stay under control."

It's been since that Texas Tech game — a 70-10 loss — that things have spiraled downward for the Blackshirts. Before that game, NU had the nation's fifth-best defense. Now, the Huskers have surrendered averages of 47 points and 447 yards in their past three games.

"We really try to move on, but it's in your mind," Bradley said of the Tech loss. "But you try to get past it. As a whole, we've moved beyond it."

Now, can the Huskers get over the hump against Smith, a mobile quarterback who entered the season as a Heisman Trophy candidate?

If the Huskers can solve their tackling problems, then maybe.

"We just watched the (K-State) film with kids, and it's graphic," Cosgrove said Sunday. "When the kids look at it, they see it. We've got to correct it, because it's base things. It's not some new defense that we put in that it's hard for them to adapt. It's some of the base stuff that has to be corrected.

"We have to do a better job — and I say this guys — we tackle a lot in practice. We do. It's the carryover to the games that we have to do a better job of."

Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.