• Video: Husker coach Bo Pelini speaks at his weekly press conference:

LINCOLN — Nebraska coach Bo Pelini has beat it into the mind of his football team that it can overcome the odds by uniting and developing an attitude.

It worked in Columbia, Waco and Lawrence. Almost worked in Blacksburg.

“Coach Bo always kind of says it's just us against the world on the road,'' tight end Mike McNeill said. “We kind of just go in arm-in-arm as a team. I feel like we kind of take that approach when we're on the road, and it's kind of worked out.''

Nebraska is 3-1 away from Memorial Stadium this season, and already gaining a reputation under Pelini of playing well on the road.

“I think we've just got to worry about ourselves no matter where we're at," defensive back Eric Hagg said. “Home game or away game, it doesn't matter where we play. I think we've just got to go out and compete no matter where we're at.''

Nebraska will travel to Colorado on Friday with a chance to go 4-0 in Big 12 road games for the first time since 1997. The Huskers currently own a four-game win streak in conference road games that started last November at Kansas State.

It's been done this season with a roster that includes just 13 seniors — and only six who start.

“I think that's a credit to the staff,'' center Jacob Hickman said. “If you can have success on the road with a younger team, that's the coaching doing what they're supposed to do and doing a good job at it.''

Nebraska is 5-3 under Pelini away from Memorial Stadium, with a 16-15 loss at then-No. 13 Virginia Tech this season and a 37-31 overtime setback at then-No. 7 Texas Tech a year ago. The lone black mark was the 62-28 thumping at Oklahoma in 2008.

Pelini said a team needs to take a “certain mentality'' on the road when it doesn't have the benefit of a home crowd behind it.

“You've got to match the energy of the opposing team and you've got to have an attitude about yourself as you take the field — an us-against-the-world type mentality,'' Pelini said. “That's one thing our guys have learned is how to approach it mentally.''

Hickman said the Huskers aren't doing things all that much different on the road than they did under Bill Callahan. Routines and restrictions haven't changed. Pelini even allows the seniors and Unity Council some input on team-related matters.

But the results have been a turnaround from the four-year road records of 7-12 overall and 5-11 in the Big 12 under Callahan — and perhaps a reflection of Pelini more than anything.

“I think Coach Bo definitely just wants us to be a tough-minded team and he stresses that all the time, that we've got to be physically and mentally tough,'' McNeill said. “That's kind of his approach and what he wants from our team, and that's kind of how we take it."

Hickman also said don't underestimate the impact of preparation, which is the work of the entire Husker staff.

“When you get in a hostile environment and you have crowd noise and all these things, you have to know what you're doing quicker because you get distracted pretty easily,'' Hickman said. “If you're prepared and it's what you've been doing in practice, you have good communication."

Pelini said he's watched his team grow and mature. Learn how to focus and block out distractions. How to approach things the right way.

It's a nice compliment, McNeill acknowledged, to be called a good road team.

“That means a lot because it takes a lot to win on the road, especially in the Big 12,'' McNeill said. “That's definitely something to be proud of.''

Contact the writer:

444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com

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