At least one crucial realization crystallized for Nebraska amid the din of a sultry Saturday night in Columbia, Mo.

The Huskers’ problems extend well beyond defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove.

Mind you, that’s not letting Cosgrove off the hook. The Blackshirts are flailing and failing in historic proportions. For anybody who has admired Nebraska football over the years, the 2007 defense’s demise is sad to witness. It’s unfathomable, really. In fact, it’s difficult to refer to them as Blackshirts at this point.

This isn’t about game plans and schemes. Cosgrove could have devised the most intelligent game plan in his 27 years of coaching, and it arguably would have mattered little against surging Missouri. That’s because without the intangible qualities of players’ passion for the game, unyielding energy and strong team chemistry, a game plan becomes merely scribbles on a grease board.

At the halfway point of the regular season, this Nebraska team is defined largely by the lack of energy and doggedness it displays on almost a weekly basis. There is little-to-no fire, especially on defense, but the offense is also culpable. To be sure, offensive-minded Husker head coach Bill Callahan above all is blameworthy.

Callahan is passionate about football. He wows you with his knowledge and work ethic. His colleagues will tell you that the job consumes him. Trouble is, his passion isn’t rubbing off on his players. It’s rubbing off on hardly anyone right now.

Foremost on Callahan’s job description is to somehow draw the most he can out of his players. We’ve watched his Nebraska squads play with passion the past two years. The Huskers were OK in this area throughout most of last season, save for perhaps a couple games. They battled back admirably in the final three games of 2005 after a dispiriting 40-15 loss at Kansas.

This season, however, Callahan has failed in getting the most out of his players, never mind Nebraska’s salvageable record (4-2, 1-1 Big 12). Indeed, the Huskers’ record at the moment tends to mask the issues that tear at the very heart and soul of a fan base that is best defined by the traits their beloved program currently lack — unyielding passion, energy and want-to.

Nebraska fans are football savvy. They know championship-level effort when they see it. They noted the Huskers’ lethargy in falling behind 10-7 in the second quarter against Nevada. They saw listlessness against Wake Forest. They saw Southern California expose Big Red’s lack of fire with a stunningly easy 96-yard drive to open the game. Even Iowa State broke ahead 10-0.

All told, Nebraska has produced only seven points and five first downs during game-opening drives this season.

So, did we expect Nebraska to miraculously change its ways against Missouri? The Tigers scored on four of their five first-half possessions, including their first one. NU, meanwhile, began both halves with a false-start penalty followed by a three-and-out. It showed not only a shortage of energy, but also lack of focus.

Nebraska was fortunate to trail only 20-6 at halftime Saturday. The Huskers had the ball to begin the third quarter. They were still in this thing, right? Maybe Callahan could light a fire in his squad. Maybe his team would storm out of the gate and spoil the roiling party at sold-out Faurot Field.

Instead, Nebraska’s first possession netted a loss of six yards, and Missouri’s first possession resulted in a six-play, 64-yard touchdown drive. Ball game.

Nebraska’s cannonball fall into mediocrity is obviously difficult to stomach for Husker backers. NU misses Adam Carriker, Jay Moore, Stewart Bradley, Ola Dagunduro and Barry Cryer more than many (including myself) anticipated. Lack of talent and speed in certain positions contributes to Big Red’s problems. But watching the team’s general malaise on the field makes those struggles especially hard for fans to swallow.

One longtime Husker backer told me the Nebraska fans on hand in Columbia seemed to be getting “annoyingly accustomed” to such embarrassing defeats. Wonderful.

Callahan looked lost at times on the sideline. The Huskers’ leader exuded concern and confusion instead of confidence. A team mirrors its leaders.

Speaking of leaders, Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson constantly reminds his employees, “Everyone’s accountable.” Pederson’s mantra, of course, should apply to Pederson himself, for he was responsible for hiring a head football coach who presides over a program that suddenly appears to be spiritless, rudderless and lacking in chemistry.

Nebraska has ample time to change its course and finish the season with a flurry of wins. But such an occurrence seems unlikely. Make no mistake, it would require an extreme makeover, starting in the coaches’ offices and extending to others who define themselves as leaders of this outfit.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.