Link: Full Game Notes (Huskers.com)
Penn State (0-3) at Nebraska (0-2)
When: Saturday, November 14 | 11:00 AM (CT)
Where: Memorial Stadium | Lincoln, Nebraska
TV: FOX Sports 1 (Brian Custer, Robert Smith)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Ben McLaughlin)
Satellite Radio: XM (Ch. 196) | Sirius (Ch. 119)
Internet Radio: Huskers.com | TuneIn.com
App Audio: Official Huskers App | TuneIn App
HUSKERS
Record: 0-2
Last Game: at Northwestern (L 13-21)
Rankings: NR
Coach: Scott Frost (28-24, 5th year overall / 9-17, 3rd year at NU)
vs. Penn State (0-0)
NITTANY LIONS
Record: 0-3
Last Game: vs. Maryland (L 19-35)
Rankings: NR
Coach: James Franklin (80-41, 10th year overall / 56-25, 7th year at PSU)
vs. Nebraska (1-0)
This Week's Numbers
2 - Saturday's game marks just the second trip by Penn State to Lincoln since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011. The only other Big Ten matchup at Memorial Stadium between the Huskers and Nittany Lions was a Nebraska win in 2012. The schools have met seven times overall in Lincoln.
125 - Saturday marks the latest date for a Nebraska football home opener in 125 years. The Nov. 14 date is the latest for a Nebraska home opener since NU hosted Kansas on Nov. 16, 1895.
139 - In Nebraska's past five games (3 in 2019 and 2 in 2020), the Husker pass defense has allowed just 139.2 passing yards per game. Nebraska has held four of the five opponents to less than 170 passing yards, with only Ohio State surpassing that yardage mark.
The Matchup
Nebraska returns to Lincoln this Saturday when the Huskers take on Penn State at Memorial Stadium. The Big Ten cross-division matchup is set to kick off shortly after 11 a.m. with the game televised nationally on FS1.
The game will match two traditional Big Ten and college football powers who are looking for their first victory of the 2020 season. The contest against the Nittany Lions will mark Nebraska's second attempt at a 2020 home opener. Nebraska was scheduled to open its home schedule on Halloween against Wisconsin, but that game was canceled. As a result, Nebraska opened the season with two road games for the first time since 1995, and will play three of its five remaining scheduled games at Memorial Stadium.
The Huskers stand at 0-2 after a 21-13 loss at Northwestern on Saturday. The Husker offense moved the ball well against the stingy Wildcat defense, but was unable to finish drives. Nebraska was 3-of-6 in the red zone, including a last-minute drive that ended on a loss of downs inside the Northwestern 20.
Penn State comes into Saturday's matchup with an 0-3 record following a 35-19 home setback against Maryland on Saturday. The Nittany Lions opened the season ranked seventh in both polls after an 11-win campaign in 2019. Penn State opened the season with an overtime loss at Indiana, before dropping a home contest against No. 3 Ohio State on Halloween, prior to Saturday's loss against the Terrapins.
Coach James Franklin's team features a strong passing offense that averages 286.3 yards per game through the air. The Penn State defense is strong against the run, allowing opponents just 124.0 yards per game on the ground.
Series History
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Penn State 9-8. The Huskers are 3-1 against the Nittany Lions since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2011.
- Saturday's game will be the fifth meeting between Nebraska and Penn State as Big Ten foes, but only the second at Memorial Stadium. The Huskers lead the all-time series 5-2 at Memorial Stadium, including a 32-23 win over the Nittany Lions in 2012 in the only conference game between the two programs in Lincoln.
- Penn State won the last meeting, defeating the Huskers 56-44 in 2017. The Huskers' last win in the series was a 23-20 overtime victory in 2013, Nebraska's first overtime game in Big Ten play.
- The first meeting between the teams as Big Ten foes occurred in 2011, when No. 19 Nebraska upset 12th-ranked Penn State, 17-14 in the first game of the post-Joe Paterno era at PSU.
- For the first three years of Nebraska's time in the Big Ten, the Huskers and Nittany Lions met annually as a protected cross-division matchup. That was prior to the Big Ten switching to the current East-West divisional alignment after the addition of Maryland and Rutgers to the league.
- Nebraska and Penn State had a long history of matching up in non-conference games prior to the Huskers joining the Big Ten. The schools met five consecutive years from 1979 to 1983, with Nebraska winning three of the five games. Both teams were ranked in each of those five games, including two games featuring a matchup of Top 10 teams.
- The schools had a home-and-home series in 2002 and 2003, with each team winning on its home field.
Nebraska vs. Penn State Matchups
1920 - Penn State 20, Nebraska 0 (State College)
1949 - Penn State 22, Nebraska 7 (State College)
1950 - Nebraska 19, Penn State 0 (Lincoln)
1951 - Penn State 15, Nebraska 7 (Lincoln)
1952 - #19 Penn State 10, Nebraska 0 (State College)
1958 - Nebraska 14, Penn State 7 (Lincoln)
1979 - #6 Nebraska 42, #18 Penn State 17 (Lincoln)
1980- #3 Nebraska 21, #11 Penn State 7 (State College)
1981 - #3 Penn State 30, #15 Nebraska 24 (Lincoln)
1982 - #8 Penn State 27, #2 Nebraska 24 (State College)
1983 - #1 Nebraska 44, #4 Penn State 6 (East Rutherford, NJ)
2002 - Penn State 40, #8 Nebraska 7 (State College)
2003 - #18 Nebraska 18, Penn State 10 (Lincoln)
---------------------Big Ten-------------------------
2011 - #19 Nebraska 17, #12 Penn State 14 (State College)
2012 - #18 Nebraska 32, Penn State 23 (Lincoln)
2013 - Nebraska 23, Penn State 20 (OT) (State College)
2017 - #13 Penn State 56, Nebraska 44 (State College)
About Penn State
Penn State has 898 all-time wins, needing two victories to become the eighth program in college football history with 900 wins. The Nittany Lions were crowned national champions in 1982 and 1986, and PSU has produced 13 undefeated seasons in program history. After decades as an independent, Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference in 1993, and the Nittany Lions have won four Big Ten titles, most recently in 2016.
Penn State has also enjoyed success in bowl games. The Nittany Lions are one of only 10 teams in college football history to appear in 50 bowl games. Penn State is 30-18-2 all-time in bowl games, ranking fourth in all-time bowl victories. Individually, Penn State has produced one Heisman Trophy winner, as running back John Cappelletti won the award in 1973.
First Year: 1887
All-Time Record: 898-396-42
Bowl Record: 30-18-2
Conference Titles: 5
National Titles: 2 (1982, 1986)
Stadium: Beaver Stadium
Capacity: 106,572
Location: University Park, Pennsylvania
Enrollment: 40,363
Scouting 2020 Penn State
Penn State was ranked No. 8 in the preseason poll but has gotten off to a slow start. The Nittany Lions are looking for their first win of the 2020 season after losing their first three games.
Most recently, the Nittany Lions fell to Maryland, 35-19. Penn State held Maryland to 70 yards with no offensive touchdowns in the second half, but was unable to overcome a 28-7 halftime deficit.
Sean Clifford leads the PSU offense on the ground and in the air. The dual-threat quarterback is Penn State's top rusher with 52 carries for 150 yards and one touchdown. In the air, he is 69-for-155 with 859 yards and nine touchdowns. Clifford's top target is Jahan Dotson who has 21 catches for 361 yards and five touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, Ellis Brooks has a team-high 23 tackles, which includes 3.5 tackles for a loss. Brandon Smith and Shaka Toney have 10 and eight tackles, respectively, and each have a team-best 2.0 sacks on the season.
2020 Penn State Schedule
at Indiana (L 35-36 OT)
Ohio State (L 25-38)
Maryland (L 19-35)
at Nebraska
Cockeye
at Michigan
at Rutgers
Michigan State
About James Franklin
James Franklin enters his 10th season as a collegiate head coach with a career record of 80-41 and is in his 7th season at Penn State, posting a 56-26 record with the Nittany Lions , with a Big Ten record of 34-21. Franklin is one of only four current FBS head coaches to lead his team to a bowl game in each of his first nine seasons as a head coach. Franklin attributes his success on the field to the strength of his teams' dedication to four core values: positive attitude, great work ethic, compete in everything you do and must be willing to sacrifice.
Under Franklin's direction, Penn State has finished in the Top 12 in the final College Football Playoff rankings four consecutive seasons and has earned berths in three New Year's Six bowl games, with two wins, and also won the 2016 Big Ten Championship. Franklin has guided the Nittany Lions to a 86 percent graduation success rate, a perfect single-year 1.000 APR for the 2018-19 school year and record-breaking performances in the classroom.
Prior to arriving at Penn State, Franklin was head coach at Vanderbilt University in the SEC for three seasons (2011-2013) and led the Commodores to a 24-15 record, including back-to-back nine-win seasons and three bowl appearances with two bowl victories.
Franklin played quarterback at Division II East Stroudsburg University and graduated in 1994. He began his coaching career in 1995 at several Division II programs and then moved up to the Division I level in 1997 at James Madison (receivers coach). He has since spent time as an assistant at Washington State, Idaho State, Maryland, and Kansas State. He also spent one season in the NFL as receivers coach for the Green Bay Packers (2005).
Last Meeting: November 18, 2017
#13 Penn State 56, Nebraska 44
State College, PA - Junior Saquon Barkley broke Penn State's career touchdown record with three scores (the 39th of his career) and had 208 of his 224 total yards in the first half to lead #13 Penn State to their 18th win in the past 21 games. Trace McSorley ran for a touchdown and threw for three scores in a game that was the highest-scoring contest in Beaver Stadium history. Penn State's 609 yards of offense were the most by a Nittany Lion team since it put up 661 yards on Rutgers in 1995.
Nebraska's Tanner Lee returned from concussion protocol for the Huskers (4-7) to complete 26-of-41 passes for 399 yards and three touchdowns. The Huskers outscored the Nittany Lions 34-14 in the second half after trailing 42-10 at halftime. With the loss, Nebraska was eliminated from bowl contention for the first time since 2007. A bright spot in the game saw Nebraska see two receivers (Stanley Morgan Jr, JD Spielman) reach 800 yards receiving in the same season for the first time in program history.
Nebraska has now lost five of its last six games and allowed a combined 235 points in those defeats.
Penn State totaled 609 yards of offense in the win (346 pass, 263 rush) while Nebraska totaled 466 yards (399 pass, 67 rush). PSU committed one turnover in the game while Nebraska had none. The Huskers were flagged nine times for 89 yards to the Nittany Lions' five penalties for 39 yards. Penn State edged out Nebraska in time of possession 30:11 to 29:49.
Trace McSorley was 24-of-36 for 325 yards with 3 TDs in the win and also added nine carries for 46 yards and a TD. Saquon Barkley added 17 carries for 158 yards and three rushing touchdowns in the win and also hauled in six receptions for 66 yards. Juwan Johnson was the leading receiver with five catches for 105 yards, and tight end Mike Gesicki had four catches for 47 yards and two TDs.
For Nebraska, Tanner Lee was 26-of-41 for 399 yards with 3 TD passes. Mikale Wilbon was the leading rusher with 10 carries for 53 yards and 2 TDs while Devine Ozigbo added seven carries for 12 yards and a TD. Stanley Morgan Jr. was the leading Husker receiver with seven catches for 185 yards and a TD. JD Spielman added six catches for 96 yards and De'Mornay Pierson-El grabbed four receptions for 54 yards and a TD. Tight End Jack Stoll also added one TD catch of three yards. Marcus Newby led the Husker defense with 10 total tackles.
Penn State (0-3) at Nebraska (0-2)
When: Saturday, November 14 | 11:00 AM (CT)
Where: Memorial Stadium | Lincoln, Nebraska
TV: FOX Sports 1 (Brian Custer, Robert Smith)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Ben McLaughlin)
Satellite Radio: XM (Ch. 196) | Sirius (Ch. 119)
Internet Radio: Huskers.com | TuneIn.com
App Audio: Official Huskers App | TuneIn App
HUSKERS
Record: 0-2
Last Game: at Northwestern (L 13-21)
Rankings: NR
Coach: Scott Frost (28-24, 5th year overall / 9-17, 3rd year at NU)
vs. Penn State (0-0)
NITTANY LIONS
Record: 0-3
Last Game: vs. Maryland (L 19-35)
Rankings: NR
Coach: James Franklin (80-41, 10th year overall / 56-25, 7th year at PSU)
vs. Nebraska (1-0)
This Week's Numbers
2 - Saturday's game marks just the second trip by Penn State to Lincoln since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011. The only other Big Ten matchup at Memorial Stadium between the Huskers and Nittany Lions was a Nebraska win in 2012. The schools have met seven times overall in Lincoln.
125 - Saturday marks the latest date for a Nebraska football home opener in 125 years. The Nov. 14 date is the latest for a Nebraska home opener since NU hosted Kansas on Nov. 16, 1895.
139 - In Nebraska's past five games (3 in 2019 and 2 in 2020), the Husker pass defense has allowed just 139.2 passing yards per game. Nebraska has held four of the five opponents to less than 170 passing yards, with only Ohio State surpassing that yardage mark.
The Matchup
Nebraska returns to Lincoln this Saturday when the Huskers take on Penn State at Memorial Stadium. The Big Ten cross-division matchup is set to kick off shortly after 11 a.m. with the game televised nationally on FS1.
The game will match two traditional Big Ten and college football powers who are looking for their first victory of the 2020 season. The contest against the Nittany Lions will mark Nebraska's second attempt at a 2020 home opener. Nebraska was scheduled to open its home schedule on Halloween against Wisconsin, but that game was canceled. As a result, Nebraska opened the season with two road games for the first time since 1995, and will play three of its five remaining scheduled games at Memorial Stadium.
The Huskers stand at 0-2 after a 21-13 loss at Northwestern on Saturday. The Husker offense moved the ball well against the stingy Wildcat defense, but was unable to finish drives. Nebraska was 3-of-6 in the red zone, including a last-minute drive that ended on a loss of downs inside the Northwestern 20.
Penn State comes into Saturday's matchup with an 0-3 record following a 35-19 home setback against Maryland on Saturday. The Nittany Lions opened the season ranked seventh in both polls after an 11-win campaign in 2019. Penn State opened the season with an overtime loss at Indiana, before dropping a home contest against No. 3 Ohio State on Halloween, prior to Saturday's loss against the Terrapins.
Coach James Franklin's team features a strong passing offense that averages 286.3 yards per game through the air. The Penn State defense is strong against the run, allowing opponents just 124.0 yards per game on the ground.
Series History
Nebraska leads the all-time series with Penn State 9-8. The Huskers are 3-1 against the Nittany Lions since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2011.
- Saturday's game will be the fifth meeting between Nebraska and Penn State as Big Ten foes, but only the second at Memorial Stadium. The Huskers lead the all-time series 5-2 at Memorial Stadium, including a 32-23 win over the Nittany Lions in 2012 in the only conference game between the two programs in Lincoln.
- Penn State won the last meeting, defeating the Huskers 56-44 in 2017. The Huskers' last win in the series was a 23-20 overtime victory in 2013, Nebraska's first overtime game in Big Ten play.
- The first meeting between the teams as Big Ten foes occurred in 2011, when No. 19 Nebraska upset 12th-ranked Penn State, 17-14 in the first game of the post-Joe Paterno era at PSU.
- For the first three years of Nebraska's time in the Big Ten, the Huskers and Nittany Lions met annually as a protected cross-division matchup. That was prior to the Big Ten switching to the current East-West divisional alignment after the addition of Maryland and Rutgers to the league.
- Nebraska and Penn State had a long history of matching up in non-conference games prior to the Huskers joining the Big Ten. The schools met five consecutive years from 1979 to 1983, with Nebraska winning three of the five games. Both teams were ranked in each of those five games, including two games featuring a matchup of Top 10 teams.
- The schools had a home-and-home series in 2002 and 2003, with each team winning on its home field.
Nebraska vs. Penn State Matchups
1920 - Penn State 20, Nebraska 0 (State College)
1949 - Penn State 22, Nebraska 7 (State College)
1950 - Nebraska 19, Penn State 0 (Lincoln)
1951 - Penn State 15, Nebraska 7 (Lincoln)
1952 - #19 Penn State 10, Nebraska 0 (State College)
1958 - Nebraska 14, Penn State 7 (Lincoln)
1979 - #6 Nebraska 42, #18 Penn State 17 (Lincoln)
1980- #3 Nebraska 21, #11 Penn State 7 (State College)
1981 - #3 Penn State 30, #15 Nebraska 24 (Lincoln)
1982 - #8 Penn State 27, #2 Nebraska 24 (State College)
1983 - #1 Nebraska 44, #4 Penn State 6 (East Rutherford, NJ)
2002 - Penn State 40, #8 Nebraska 7 (State College)
2003 - #18 Nebraska 18, Penn State 10 (Lincoln)
---------------------Big Ten-------------------------
2011 - #19 Nebraska 17, #12 Penn State 14 (State College)
2012 - #18 Nebraska 32, Penn State 23 (Lincoln)
2013 - Nebraska 23, Penn State 20 (OT) (State College)
2017 - #13 Penn State 56, Nebraska 44 (State College)
About Penn State
Penn State has 898 all-time wins, needing two victories to become the eighth program in college football history with 900 wins. The Nittany Lions were crowned national champions in 1982 and 1986, and PSU has produced 13 undefeated seasons in program history. After decades as an independent, Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference in 1993, and the Nittany Lions have won four Big Ten titles, most recently in 2016.
Penn State has also enjoyed success in bowl games. The Nittany Lions are one of only 10 teams in college football history to appear in 50 bowl games. Penn State is 30-18-2 all-time in bowl games, ranking fourth in all-time bowl victories. Individually, Penn State has produced one Heisman Trophy winner, as running back John Cappelletti won the award in 1973.
First Year: 1887
All-Time Record: 898-396-42
Bowl Record: 30-18-2
Conference Titles: 5
National Titles: 2 (1982, 1986)
Stadium: Beaver Stadium
Capacity: 106,572
Location: University Park, Pennsylvania
Enrollment: 40,363
Scouting 2020 Penn State
Penn State was ranked No. 8 in the preseason poll but has gotten off to a slow start. The Nittany Lions are looking for their first win of the 2020 season after losing their first three games.
Most recently, the Nittany Lions fell to Maryland, 35-19. Penn State held Maryland to 70 yards with no offensive touchdowns in the second half, but was unable to overcome a 28-7 halftime deficit.
Sean Clifford leads the PSU offense on the ground and in the air. The dual-threat quarterback is Penn State's top rusher with 52 carries for 150 yards and one touchdown. In the air, he is 69-for-155 with 859 yards and nine touchdowns. Clifford's top target is Jahan Dotson who has 21 catches for 361 yards and five touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, Ellis Brooks has a team-high 23 tackles, which includes 3.5 tackles for a loss. Brandon Smith and Shaka Toney have 10 and eight tackles, respectively, and each have a team-best 2.0 sacks on the season.
2020 Penn State Schedule
at Indiana (L 35-36 OT)
Ohio State (L 25-38)
Maryland (L 19-35)
at Nebraska
Cockeye
at Michigan
at Rutgers
Michigan State
About James Franklin
James Franklin enters his 10th season as a collegiate head coach with a career record of 80-41 and is in his 7th season at Penn State, posting a 56-26 record with the Nittany Lions , with a Big Ten record of 34-21. Franklin is one of only four current FBS head coaches to lead his team to a bowl game in each of his first nine seasons as a head coach. Franklin attributes his success on the field to the strength of his teams' dedication to four core values: positive attitude, great work ethic, compete in everything you do and must be willing to sacrifice.
Under Franklin's direction, Penn State has finished in the Top 12 in the final College Football Playoff rankings four consecutive seasons and has earned berths in three New Year's Six bowl games, with two wins, and also won the 2016 Big Ten Championship. Franklin has guided the Nittany Lions to a 86 percent graduation success rate, a perfect single-year 1.000 APR for the 2018-19 school year and record-breaking performances in the classroom.
Prior to arriving at Penn State, Franklin was head coach at Vanderbilt University in the SEC for three seasons (2011-2013) and led the Commodores to a 24-15 record, including back-to-back nine-win seasons and three bowl appearances with two bowl victories.
Franklin played quarterback at Division II East Stroudsburg University and graduated in 1994. He began his coaching career in 1995 at several Division II programs and then moved up to the Division I level in 1997 at James Madison (receivers coach). He has since spent time as an assistant at Washington State, Idaho State, Maryland, and Kansas State. He also spent one season in the NFL as receivers coach for the Green Bay Packers (2005).
Last Meeting: November 18, 2017
#13 Penn State 56, Nebraska 44
State College, PA - Junior Saquon Barkley broke Penn State's career touchdown record with three scores (the 39th of his career) and had 208 of his 224 total yards in the first half to lead #13 Penn State to their 18th win in the past 21 games. Trace McSorley ran for a touchdown and threw for three scores in a game that was the highest-scoring contest in Beaver Stadium history. Penn State's 609 yards of offense were the most by a Nittany Lion team since it put up 661 yards on Rutgers in 1995.
Nebraska's Tanner Lee returned from concussion protocol for the Huskers (4-7) to complete 26-of-41 passes for 399 yards and three touchdowns. The Huskers outscored the Nittany Lions 34-14 in the second half after trailing 42-10 at halftime. With the loss, Nebraska was eliminated from bowl contention for the first time since 2007. A bright spot in the game saw Nebraska see two receivers (Stanley Morgan Jr, JD Spielman) reach 800 yards receiving in the same season for the first time in program history.
Nebraska has now lost five of its last six games and allowed a combined 235 points in those defeats.
Penn State totaled 609 yards of offense in the win (346 pass, 263 rush) while Nebraska totaled 466 yards (399 pass, 67 rush). PSU committed one turnover in the game while Nebraska had none. The Huskers were flagged nine times for 89 yards to the Nittany Lions' five penalties for 39 yards. Penn State edged out Nebraska in time of possession 30:11 to 29:49.
Trace McSorley was 24-of-36 for 325 yards with 3 TDs in the win and also added nine carries for 46 yards and a TD. Saquon Barkley added 17 carries for 158 yards and three rushing touchdowns in the win and also hauled in six receptions for 66 yards. Juwan Johnson was the leading receiver with five catches for 105 yards, and tight end Mike Gesicki had four catches for 47 yards and two TDs.
For Nebraska, Tanner Lee was 26-of-41 for 399 yards with 3 TD passes. Mikale Wilbon was the leading rusher with 10 carries for 53 yards and 2 TDs while Devine Ozigbo added seven carries for 12 yards and a TD. Stanley Morgan Jr. was the leading Husker receiver with seven catches for 185 yards and a TD. JD Spielman added six catches for 96 yards and De'Mornay Pierson-El grabbed four receptions for 54 yards and a TD. Tight End Jack Stoll also added one TD catch of three yards. Marcus Newby led the Husker defense with 10 total tackles.
