By The Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. - Craig Bohl hears a lot of questions about Nebraska's porous defensive unit, and wishes he had an answer that would put an end to its many of its problems.

Players out of position. Missed assignments. Sloppy tackling. No pass rush. Confusion. Lack of fire. Too many penalties.

But Bohl, the defensive coordinator, refuses to place all the blame on the players.

The Cornhuskers have given up yardage in chunks while falling to 5-3 and out of the polls for the first time since 1981. Last Saturday, Nebraska lost to Oklahoma State for the first in 40 years, leaving Bohl to ask a few questions - of himself.

"Do I need to do a better job coaching? Without question," he said. "And that's what we're in the process of doing."

The problems started late last season. Nebraska allowed 1,054 yards of total offense and 99 points in its final two games - a 62-36 mugging at Colorado and a 37-14 loss to Miami in the national championship game in the Rose Bowl.

This season, Bohl's troops are 50th in the nation against the run, 51st against the pass and 40th in total defense. They are giving up an average of 20.8 points.

"Do we need to look at our game plan? Do we need to look at what we can do to put our players in better positions? Certainly," Bohl said.

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Remember BYU and its prolific attack, which led the nation in total offense and scoring as recently as a year ago?

That must seem like ancient history to the fans, whose team has gone into an unfathomable scoring slump the last two games.

BYU visits Mountain West Conference rival Colorado State on Thursday night having scored only one touchdown and 12 points in its last two games combined.

Last Saturday's 24-3 loss to UNLV marked the Cougars' lowest point total at home since being shut out by New Mexico in 1971. Preceding the loss to UNLV was a 52-9 rout at the hands of Air Force.

"I felt like we were getting into the end zone pretty good until the last two games," coach Gary Crowton said. "We've moved the ball good, we just haven't gotten in there."

This from a team that averaged 542.8 yards and 46.7 points last season.

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Katie Hnida could still get a chance to make a little history.

The walk-on place-kicker from Littleton, Colo., could be New Mexico's next option in its continuing search a consistent kicking game. The Lobos' quest could mean they'll use a female kicker.

"As far as we know, she would be the first to play (in a Division I game)," an NCAA spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Injuries and a lack of production from the other kickers on the team have improved Hnida's chances of getting into a game.

"If she moves into the second kicker's spot, it's very possible," said Jeff Conway, the Lobos' special teams coordinator.

But head coach Rocky Long sounded less optimistic.

"She's a little slow, and she doesn't get up high or fast. And her range is shorter than everybody else," Long said. "All those things are considered when you consider who's going to be your kicker."

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EXTRA POINTS: Xavier Beitia will be remembered for a while as the kicker who missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt that gave top-ranked Miami a 28-27 victory earlier this month over Florida State. But the Seminoles don't have a problem with their kicking game. Midway through his sophomore season, Beitia has made 26 of 30 attempts. ... Wyoming's Ryan McGuffey has caught a pass in every game of his career, a 26-game streak. ... Syracusem a 10-game winner which finished 14th in the nation a year ago, is 1-6, the lone victory coming against Division I-AA Rhode Island. How bad is it? Syracuse is riding its first four-game losing streak since 1986.

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QUOTABLE: "We've looked at the tape, and we haven't been able to find anything. The thing about it, in practice he kicks them long and right down the middle." - Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey on the slump of kicker Luke Manget, who has converted just three of seven field-goals attempts this season.