The unavoidable truth about Nebraska football over the past 70-plus games is this: The program turned soft.

It’s an ugly word — soft — and not representative of every moment since the middle of the 2016 season. The Huskers’ 24-17 win at Iowa last November took resolve and fight, characteristics that define a tough team.

But too often, Nebraska has faltered under stress. It has turned to excuses instead of making a commitment to search for answers.

Ultimately, players get a raw deal. They take much of the blame. Systemic problems start at the top. Coaches and administrators have failed the Huskers.

The months since new head coach Matt Rhule arrived in Nebraska, three days after that victory in Iowa City, has delivered healing. Rhule worked fast to restore connections close to home and tap into fertile recruiting grounds.

The 48-year-old coach has made waves with a plan to recruit his kind of talent to Lincoln. He has won over skeptics with a consistent and strategic style of communication. The Huskers’ coaching clinic on campus in March illustrated the efforts at work to back up talk with action. The return of former coach Frank Solich this week to Memorial Stadium, orchestrated by athletic director Trev Alberts — but also made possible by Rhule — will help mend fences mowed down two decades ago.

But all of this is window dressing of sorts. The root issues that led to 28 one-score defeats over the past six seasons fester deep under the surface. Nebraska is not soft because it struggled with outreach or missed the mark at communicating to doubters.