LINCOLN — Two days after dropping a 40-20 decision to the University of Utah, the Utah State Aggies went to the practice field and worked on their defensive fundamentals.

"That's what's going to carry us through," Utah State linebacker Roberts Watts said. "A lot of those missed tackles would have helped a lot. A lot of them were tackles for loss or sacks, and stuff like that could have made a difference."

The Aggie defense was ranked 112th last year nationally, but changes in the offseason brought in a new defensive coordinator in Dave Kotulski, and he brought with him a new attitude.

"We've been working on that aspect (tackling) of it since Day 1. It's a continuation of doing the fundamentals," he said. "It's not going to be a quick cure-all. Hopefully we can continue to improve on our assignments and our coverages."

The Aggies (0-1) surrendered 382 yards total offense to the Utes and 19 points in the fourth quarter alone.

Today at No. 24 Nebraska (10:30 a.m.), that has to change.

"They're going to come and try to be very physical and fundamental with us," Kotulski said. "We've got to be able to play with great intensity, fly around to the ball and get off blocks and eliminate bad play."

Essentially, the Aggies have to play near-perfect football defensively.

"When you haven't had a lot of success playing defense, it's a mind-set," Kotulski said. "We've got to be able to rise up and challenge that, and not for the first quarter but for four quarters, 60 minutes, every play."

Watts, who anchored the Aggie defense with 16 tackles against the Utes, likes the new system and what it offers, but he still needs to play within it.

"I know for me personally I was a little overanxious trying to go out there and destroy everything I saw. A lot of times I was tackling with my eyes down and missing tackles," Watts said.

"It think it was a lot of the same for everyone else, too, trying to go over there and make a statement because we've been ranked over 100 defensively for the last couple of years."

The Aggie defense was on the field for 36 of the 60 minutes against the Utes. It forced Utah to punt just one time (the first drive), but they did have two interceptions. Utah's last four possessions resulted in scores — two field goals and two touchdowns.

The Aggie offense has to do a better job of taking care of the football to give the defense a breather. The offense punted four times, lost the ball on downs twice and turned it over twice. In the first quarter alone, it held the ball for just over four minutes.

AGS ON TV: For the first time since the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl, the Aggies will play on national TV. Today's contest will be broadcast on Fox Sports.

'HUSKER CORRECTION: Nebraska's last non-conference loss was in 1991 to Washington, 36-21.

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Aggies on the air

Utah State (0-1) at (24) Nebraska (1-0)

Time: Today, 10:30 a.m. (MDT)

Where: Memorial Stadium

TV: Fox Sports

Radio: 610 AM (Logan); 860 AM (SLC)

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E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com