It&#8217;s not like Nebraska coach Bo Pelini hasn&#8217;t lost a game in his college coaching career.</p><p>But it&#8217;s happened so infrequently &#8212; last Saturday&#8217;s setback to Virginia Tech was his 11th in six years &#8212; that he continues to wear them like the itchiest of sweaters.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a poor loser, not very fun to be around the next day,&#8221; Pelini said. &#8220;I take losses hard. I took them hard as a coordinator and a position coach.&#8221;</p><p>None of Pelini&#8217;s teams &#8212; when he was an assistant with the Cornhuskers in 2003, Oklahoma in 2004, LSU during 2005-07 and this one in his first year as a head coach &#8212; have lost two straight. But Nebraska is a double-digit underdog in Saturday&#8217;s home game against fourth-ranked Missouri.</p><p>Part of that perception is a comment on Nebraska&#8217;s defense, which allowed a Virginia Tech team averaging 277 total yards and 22 points entering its trip to Lincoln to roll up 377 yards in a 35-30 victory.</p><p>Now comes perhaps the biggest challenge the defensive-minded Pelini will face all season, or at least until the next game at Texas Tech. This is a Missouri squad flashing the best offensive credentials among major conference programs.</p><p>The Tigers average 53.75 points and 595.5 yards per game. Only Tulsa has better numbers.</p><p>At one point this season, Mizzou scored on 15 straight possessions.</p><p>Nebraska sees disturbing quarterback Chase Daniel as the priority. He&#8217;s completing 76 percent of his passes and has thrown one interception and 12 touchdowns.</p><p>&#8220;He gets rid of the ball quick, but that doesn&#8217;t mean you can&#8217;t affect him or try to affect him,&#8221; Pelini said.</p><p>Apparently, that was the message Pelini has delivered to his defenders for the past few days.</p><p>&#8220;Even if you don&#8217;t get the sack, if you get close and knock him off his feet you let him know you&#8217;re there,&#8221; Cornhuskers defensive end Zach Potter said. &#8220;Anything you can do to really make him aware that you&#8217;re getting pressure on him that&#8217;s good for us.&#8221;</p><p>Get in Daniel&#8217;s head. Got it. But there&#8217;s much more to Missouri&#8217;s offense. Unlike many spread formation teams, the Tigers aren&#8217;t wed to the passing game. By averaging more than 190 rushing yards Mizzou presents problems on multiple fronts.</p><p>&#8220;I definitely think Missouri&#8217;s running game gets overshadowed,&#8221; Potter said.</p><p>The Cornhuskers painfully learned last weekend how not covering every item on a checklist causes problems. On passing occasions they&#8217;d have great coverage and get some pressure on Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor, only to have him dart off for a big gain.</p><p>Pelini offered no excuses after the loss and took his defense to task for their many mistakes. But he allowed some of the problems can be attributed to a new coaching regime.</p><p>&#8220;These guys are hearing things for the first time,&#8221; Pelini said. &#8220;When I started at LSU it wasn&#8217;t a lot different. We didn&#8217;t play well. It started off slow and we picked up steam.&#8221;</p><p>Even Pelini, four games into his head coaching career, figures to learn from his mistakes. He kept alive Virginia Tech&#8217;s game-clinching touchdown drive with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after arguing a late hit flag on one of his players.</p><p>&#8220;That was bad judgment on my part,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Nebraska hopes experience can help in another way. Last year, the Cornhuskers took a 4-1 record and No. 22 ranking to Columbia, believed they could beat the Tigers with a three-man rush, and got waxed 41-6. Nebraska won only one game after that.</p><p>&#8220;That was a horrible, horrible, horrible thing to experience,&#8221; defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. &#8220;It can motivate you to play that much harder.&#8221;</p><p>So can a coach who hates to lose.</p><p>&#8220;When I can start handling (losing) well,&#8221; Pelini said, &#8220;it&#8217;s time for me to go to another profession.&#8221;