It was painful, no doubt about it. Trevor Johnson started with a wince. Then the Nebraska defensive end shifted his weight from foot to foot and bit his lip. He looked upward as if hoping lightning bolts would rain from the sky and smite his interrogator and keep him from having to answer the question.

No such luck.

"Blackskirts,'' he finally said, revealing the harshest criticism he recalled from a year filled with it. "They called us the Skirts, and stuff like that."

In good times, and probably 99 percent of the Nebraska sporting public can recall no other, the Cornhusker defense was known as the Blackshirts, a fast, physical unit that administered beatings with numbing regularity. The Nebraska option offense, on the other hand, was like a cockroach surviving a nuclear winter -- passed over by evolution but still, inexplicably, rolling along. Great times -- and national championships -- followed.

	It seemed like everyone was beating up on Nebraska last season.

That run came to a jarring end last fall, when the Cornhuskers imploded. Less than a year removed from playing in the national championship game against Miami, NU nose-dived, snapping amazing streaks for nine-win seasons (33), winning seasons (41), years without a three-game losing streak (42) and consecutive weeks in the Associated Press rankings (348).

Nebraska fans, long revered as among the classiest and most loyal in college football, began to grumble.

Suffice it to say it was a busy offseason in Lincoln. Two longtime assistants retired and head coach Frank Solich fired three more, four if you include Solich. New offensive coordinator Barney Cotton takes the play-calling duties from Solich and Bo Pelini will try to rebuild the Blackshirts' honor.

Off the field, Husker backers did everything but launch a recall election for the Honorable Tom Osborne in hopes he'd dump his job in Congress in order to do something really important for the state.

Ticket prices were slashed an average of $1.75 each, a move designed to make up in fan good will what it will cost the athletic department (about $1 million). The controversial stripes on the sides of the jerseys that debuted last year are out; the old-style cheerleading routines are back in.

Even the mascot wasn't spared. Herbie Husker, hitting the big three-zero, comes out of a forced retirement with the edict, direct from new athletic director Steve Pederson, that he get buff. "In all honesty, Herbie's just not in playing shape," Pederson said announcing the change.

Herbie, whose blood pressure in February was revealed at a university press conference as an apoplectic 180 over 110 -- and he didn't even HAVE to watch the Huskers play last fall -- wasn't the only one to get orders to shape up.

NU shook up its venerable strength-training department, with legendary strength coach Boyd Epley being promoted to associate athletic director for athletic performance and facility development. Brian Bailey, who had plenty of work last year overseeing the rehabilitation of injured players, takes his place.

Solich is quick to say that former Husker quarterback Scott Frost, who worked out with the team over the summer, told him that "this is the best-conditioned football team he's ever been around."

And it still being early August, the time of eternal optimism, the Huskers have bought into the changes, considering last year as little more than a hiccup.

"I won't even look back,'' said quarterback Jammal Lord. "I might take a peek. Then we'll roll."

Which begs the question: Is that the fruit sown by the seeds of good old-fashioned dedication, the kind that built and sustained the longest and most successful run in major college history?

Or is it denial?

NU enters the season with a tweaked option offense and a talented quarterback in Lord, an elusive runner who'll get to air it out more if he can improve his accuracy.

"If we complete 47 percent of our passes, we're not going to throw that much more,'' Solich pointed out.

Lord will also have experience on the offensive line, including a personal protector in tackle Richie Incognito, but it's what he doesn't have that stands out.

NU is inexperienced at receiver and lacks the dependable big-play tight end threat the Huskers traditionally enjoy. David Horne, who gave up his redshirt five games into last season and finished with 651 yards on the ground, needs to be the kind of I-back that the Huskers have long produced.

Defensively, the Huskers return nine starters, but their defensive ends aren't up to their usual standards and No. 1 cornerback Fabian Washington must rebound from a freshman season that saw him get picked on every week. Solich swears the Huskers' defense will be as fast as ever, but that may just be wishful thinking.

On special teams they'll have to replace two all-time greats, kicker Josh Brown and game-turning returner DeJuan Groce.

On the plus side, the Cornhuskers will have an unfamiliar ally -- thirst for revenge -- as a motivator. NU plays six of the seven teams that beat it last year.

"I'm a big payback guy,'' Lord said.

"I want to get every one of them back,'' Johnson said.

Many Nebraskans, even the diehards, smile and nod. They don't expect greatness. Nine wins, a sign that the glory days aren't over, will be plenty for most of them.

Asked what he'd say to those who say Cornhusker football is on the wane, Lord doesn't flinch.

"Watch," he says simply. "Watch the games on Saturday. It'll be a different team out there this year. We've got the attitude. Everything's different this year."

Mark Wangrin covers the Big 12 for the San Antonio Express-News.