But before they set out to beat them, they might want to give the Huskers a little thanks. It was last year's loss, a 196.675-196.100 decision in Lincoln, that helped turn the 2007 season around for the Utes.

Senior Nicolle Ford and Annie DiLuzio didn't make the trip because of injuries and the Utes had lost on their last road trip in embarrassing fashion, 196.850-195.475 at Georgia, putting the Utes in a precarious situation against the Huskers.

"You could feel it," senior Katie Kivisto said. "We could feel it and the coaching staff could feel it. We were either going to completely lose ourselves or we were going to go the other way and perform better than we had. It was a scary time for us; luckily, we chose the latter."

The Utes lost the meet, but won the battle with themselves. They realized they needed to come together as a team to salvage the season.

"We made mistakes, but we fought for it," Kivisto said.

The tough loss left the Utes wanting more. The next week, they nearly upset top-ranked Florida, then finished the regular season with three wins that helped them build confidence for the national championships, where they finished second.

"Losing to Nebraska was the beginning of the turnaround," Utah coach Greg Marsden said.

It doesn't appear the Utes need such desperate times to make themselves a cohesive, and thereby better, team this year.

"The camaraderie is much better, totally different," Kivisto said. "Practices are going a lot smoother and, in general, you leave the gym feeling good most of the days. It wasn't always like that last year."

lwodraska@sltrib.com

Utah gymnastics coach Greg Marsden lost the grandmother who raised him to breast cancer when he was a teenager, making his team's effort to raise awareness for breast cancer at tonight's meet that much more meaningful to him.

No. 11 Nebraska at No. 3 Utah

When: Today, 7 p.m.

Where: Huntsman Center

What to look for: Utah junior Kristina Baskett has pulled her back and may not compete. The Huskers have just seven healthy gymnasts out of the 12 on the roster. The injuries hurt the most on the uneven bars, where they have just five gymnasts competing.