The exact phrasing of the question is forgotten, but it came from a broadcaster, and it included the words “Missouri” and “best” and “Big 12 North” all in the same sentence.

To this question, the eyebrows on the 340-pound man raised.

“Who says they’re the best?” said Carl Nicks, a Husker left tackle who probably weighs more than 340 if the scale was being honest.

“Personally, I can’t speak for everybody on the team, but I think we’re the best in the North.”

He spoke with a confidence not so easily found this week from some Husker backers.

As Nebraska’s Saturday road trip to No. 17 Missouri looms, anxiety hovers.

There are fans who aren’t talking about winning so much as they’re talking about the hope of “pulling one out.”

It seems the biggest sense of dread comes from what Missouri’s high-flying spread offense could do to the Blackshirts — ranked 77th in total defense and 92nd in rushing defense.

Help anyone? This is where Nicks and his friends come into the story.

While Nebraska’s defense has proved an easy target this year, the offense was no picture of brilliance in a 35-17 victory over Iowa State on Saturday.

There were three turnovers in Nebraska’s first eight offensive plays, dropped passes and a lacking ability to sustain drives.

The offense’s struggles had the defense on the field for an astounding 102 plays, almost 40 minutes of the football game.

“We can’t get into the same scenario that we were in on Saturday, where we had three turnovers on three consecutive possessions,” Husker coach Bill Callahan said. “That won’t cut it in the Big 12, especially on the road.”

Yes, Nebraska’s defense must find another level Saturday, but the offense could sure do them a few favors, too.

Some time-consuming drives would be a start.

The Huskers didn’t have many of those Saturday — the longest scoring drive against the Cylcones lasted 3 minutes, 3 seconds.

Will the Huskers try to run the ball more?

The stats suggest it’d be worth attempting. The Tigers are 93rd in total defense and 71st in rushing defense.

“Every time we look at film we see a team that we can run on,” Nicks said. “We’re going to go in with the mind frame that we can run, but if it doesn’t work, we’ll adjust.”

The Huskers have run the ball more than they’ve passed it (198 rushes to 187 passes) this year, but still Callahan keeps getting asked about the team’s run game.

“There’s always this question of running the ball more, but really whatever it takes to win is where we’re at,” Callahan said. “As long as we’re scoring points and we’re putting points on the board. If we throw it 100 times or run it 100 times, it really doesn’t matter to me.”

In a 34-20 victory over Missouri last year, the Huskers ran the ball 47 times against the Tigers, averaging 3.9 yards a carry. That is not eye-popping, but it did help the Huskers hold the football for more than 35 minutes of the game.

That’s 35 minutes without Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel on the field.

Husker quarterback Sam Keller is looking forward to the challenge.

As Callahan would say, ball control can be accomplished by passing, too.

And Missouri’s style of defense might give Nebraska the opportunity to keep the offense on the field by way of short passes.

“I think they want to keep it in front of them,” Keller said. “I think they look to me like they’re more of a bend-don’t-break defense. They want to hit you in the mouth when they get a chance. I’m sure they’ll be revved up and ready to go. We’ve got to be ready for anything.”

Keller said he loves going on the road and the “you against the world” feeling that accompanies it.

He also knows that if Nicks is right — and Nebraska truly is the best in the North — Saturday cannot be a day of failure.

“This is the most important part of our season. Just like last week was the most important part of our season. We want to be 1-0 every week,” Keller said.

“You can’t mess around with this thing. If you have one loss, two losses, that’s really detrimental if you want to be what you want to be in college football.”

Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.