LINCOLN, NEB. ? The last time Nebraska was beaten so soundly at home, Bill Jennings was the Cornhuskers’ head coach and Frank Solich was a ninth-grader in Cleveland.

Indeed, the Huskers’ 38-9 loss to Kansas State was one for the ages.

Their worst home outing since a 31-0 loss to Missouri in 1958 also marked the end of another one of the impressive streaks that started under Bob Devaney, who replaced Jennings in 1962, and continued under Tom Osborne.

Before Saturday, Kansas State hadn’t beaten Nebraska in Lincoln since a 12-0 shutout in 1968.

That loss, among others during a second straight 6-4 campaign, prompted boosters in Omaha to circulate a petition asking for the removal of Devaney.

Devaney survived and two years later led the Huskers to the first of two consecutive national championships.

Thirty-five years later, a home loss to K-State is fueling speculation about the future of the head coach.

Athletic director Steve Pederson has said he wouldn’t comment on the 59-year-old Solich’s status until after the season.

Fan disenchantment was rampant after last year’s 7-7 campaign, which ended a streak of 33 straight nine-win seasons and 40 consecutive above-.500 seasons.

Solich replaced six assistants, and the Huskers started the season 5-0 with what was then the nation’s top-ranked defense.

But the Huskers (8-3 overall, 4-3 Big 12 Conference) have lost three of their last six. They lost by 17 points at Missouri, by 24 at Texas and by 29 at home to Kansas State. They dropped to No. 23 in this week’s Associated Press poll.

Solich, 57-18 in six years but 15-10 the last two, held firm when asked whether the loss to the Wildcats was embarrassing.

“No,” he said. “I’m never embarrassed with my football team when I think they played hard.”

The loss further chinked a program that has prided itself on unprecedented consistency.

Before Saturday, the Huskers already had seen their 24-game winning streak over Missouri end.

Last year, in addition to the run of nine-win and above-.500 seasons coming to a halt, the Huskers were beaten by Oklahoma State for the first time since 1961. They also saw their streak of 348 straight weeks in the AP poll and 54 straight weeks in the Top 10 end.

Only two significant streaks remain — the NCAA record of 34 consecutive bowls and its 35-game win streak over Kansas.

The Huskers are off until their Nov. 28 visit to Colorado.

Fans remember the last trip to Boulder as the beginning of the end of Nebraska dominance. The Huskers lost 62-36 at CU in 2001. They still made it to the national-championship Rose Bowl game, where they lost to Miami.

In two years, they’ve gone from playing for the national title to a middle-of-the-pack team in the Big 12 North.

“They’re hurt right now,” Solich said of his players. “It’s a situation where it’s tough on them. They’ve had some very bright moments in this season, and to have this happen is difficult for them to take.

“But there’s only one direction you can allow yourself to go in this game, and that is to come back on Monday and look at the film and try to move forward from there. We do have a game to play.”