What we're up against... Penn State

H

hu5kers

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Penn State Offense - 272 yards pass/gm...140 yards rush/gm... 28.6 points/gm...

- has allowed only 13 sacks this season

- score 76% of the time when in red-zone

- 42% 3rd down completion

Penn State Defense - 211.0 yards passing allowed/gm = 5.8 yards/pass

- 7 rushing TD's allowed all season

- 123.6 yards rushing allowed/gm = 3.6 yards/attempt

- 17.1 points against/gm

- 24 sacks this season

Penn State Special Teams - kickoff return average 17.4

- kickoff return allowed average 22.0

- punt return average 5.8

- punt return allowed average 13.6

- field goals-attempts 7-14

QB Matthew McGloin (6'-1''; 210lbs) - 2436 pass yards/season... 270 pass yards/gm... 18 TD's thrown with only 3 Int's

RB Zach Zwinak (6'-1"; 232lbs) - 545 yards rush/season... 60.6 yards rush/gm... 4.7 yards/carry and 3 TD's

WR Allen Robinson (6'-3"; 201lbs) - 689 receiving yards/season... 76.6 receiving yards/gm with 8 TD's

LB Michael Mauti (6'-2"; 232lbs) - 83 total tackles/season...2.5 sacks/season... 3 int's... 2 fumbles forced

LB Gerald Hodges (6'-2"; 237lbs) - 76 total tackles/season... 6 pass deflections

 
They have a fairly stout run defense, 123.6 yards rushing allowed/gm but OSU was able to run on them 53 carries for 234 yards. A lot of runs but PSU sacked OSU 4 times and had 1 pick and held them to 143 yards passing. Should be interesting to see how Beck attacks this defense. Glad we're playing this one at home.

 
This is a game there for the taking for NU. Limit turnovers, show up to play, and play clean and NU can win this game.

But, PSU isn't terrible. I'd argue that NU is the hardest road game and probably 2nd best foe they have faced (outside OSU).

However, after the Mich and MSU slobber knockers. NU is beat up and a nick or two away from getting really thin across the board quickly.

Plus, I don't know that NU fans are terribly "thrilled" by PSU being the annual "cross-over" game, but PSU may look at this game differently. Who knows. NU can and should win. But PSU certainly is no slouch.

 
What will it take for this team to have a punt return team that is a weapon again? We are so passive with it and a good return can flip the field. I believe we have even muffed fair catches, so the risk/reward for a more aggressive punt return game makes sense.

 
Joe_5700 said:
What will it take for this team to have a punt return team that is a weapon again? We are so passive with it and a good return can flip the field. I believe we have even muffed fair catches, so the risk/reward for a more aggressive punt return game makes sense.
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Since we have muffed fair catches wouldn't that make the risk of a more aggressive punt return game outway the reward? It's more difficult to catch a punt and try to run with it. It's kind of strange now that I think about it, I don't recall that many highlights of long punt returns from any team this year. Seemed like last year there were a lot. Maybe I'm not paying attention or teams are more concerned about player safety.

 
I think I speak for everybody on the team and in the state in saying that the Cornhuskers are in no position to assume anything on paper. They can hang 450 yards on one of the best statistical defenses in the nation (MSU) and still be in position to lose. Our defense has a habit of enabling mediocre offensive players to have the game of their lives against us.

Then again, we are overdue for putting a complete game together.

And I'll settle for less.

Half the turnovers and penalties and we dominate.

We've had so many wake-up calls that I have to think the Huskers are fully awake and this is just the team they are. Talented and maddening.

 
They got gashed early by Ohio and Virginia, but aside from the Ohio State game, they've put together a decent season since that rocky start.

The Penn State defense takes away your running game. They are stout up front and basically wager that you can't beat them through the air. Considering the fact that they've played, mostly, terrible passing teams, that's a fairly safe wager.

Here are their opponents' rush averages and how they fared against the Nittany Lions:

Team / National Rush Rank / Average YPG / Yards against Penn State / Difference

Ohio / 19 / 221 / 180 / -41

Virginia / 83 / 141 / 63 / -78

Navy / 7 / 268 / 255 / -13

Temple / 51 / 173 / 113 / -60

Illinois / 96 / 126 / 74 / -52

Northwestern / 13 / 238 / 122 / -116

Iowa / 95 / 130 / 20 / -110

Ohio State / 9 / 256 / 234 / -22

Purdue / 73 / 153 / 87 / -66

So, every team they've played has fared worse than their season average against Penn State - some by more than 100 yards. The good rushing teams have been OK; Navy was just 13 yards off their average, Ohio State just 22, Ohio just 41 yards short. But Northwestern, a fairly good rushing team, was 116 yards below their average against Penn State. That says they have a pretty good front seven.

Now let's look at the pass. These numbers are a bit more ugly, largely because several teams in the Big Ten haven't yet discovered the forward pass.

Team - National Pass Rank / Average YPG / Yards against Penn State / Difference

Ohio / 53 / 241 / 324 / +83

Virginia / 39 / 271 / 263 / -8

Navy / 118 / 112 / 136 / +24

Temple / 117 / 123 / 124 / +1

Illinois / 107 / 175 / 292 / +117

Northwestern / 109 / 163 / 140 / -23

Iowa / 95 / 198 / 189 / -9

Ohio State / 99 / 189 / 143 / -46

Purdue / 68 / 227 / 288 / +61

Things look a little different in the defensive backfield. When you play teams that don't pass - at all - it's a lot easier to sell out against the run. Penn State's most dangerous passing opponent thus far has been Virginia at #39 in the country, averaging just 271 yards per game. They combine that passing attack with the #83 rushing offense, and suddenly you're not much of a threat.

In each of Penn State's games, they've had something to take away from the other team - and every time, it's been the run, because these teams, almost exclusively, cannot pass. Now, Nebraska isn't running Joe Montana out there at QB - we're only ranked 79th in the country in passing - but we have the most formidable running offense Penn State has seen, and if they line up to take away our run, we have Kyler Reed, Kenny Bell, Quincy Enunwa and Jamal Turner waiting in the wings.

And, Penn State's fantastic defensive tackle Jordan Hill is injured - maybe done for the year. Yeah, Nebraska is dinged up right now, but so is Penn State, and perhaps dinged up even worse than us. We can afford to lose Rex Burkhead because we've got Ameer Abdullah. Do they have another Jordan Hill waiting on the sidelines? I'm willing to bet not.

 
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Guy Chamberlin said:
I think I speak for everybody on the team and in the state in saying that the Cornhuskers are in no position to assume anything on paper. They can hang 450 yards on one of the best statistical defenses in the nation (MSU) and still be in position to lose. Our defense has a habit of enabling mediocre offensive players to have the game of their lives against us.

Then again, we are overdue for putting a complete game together.

And I'll settle for less.

Half the turnovers and penalties and we dominate.

We've had so many wake-up calls that I have to think the Huskers are fully awake and this is just the team they are. Talented and maddening.
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I think the team is self-aware based on Eric Martin's post game comment to T-mart.
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They drive us crazy
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but you got to love 'em
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. They are due for a complete game. Let's hope it is this week.

 
Good info hu5kers and analysis Knapplc. So we should hope for a non-windy Saturday and pass? I think PSU blitzes a lot so maybe short passes are in order? The Purdue passing (+61) stood out to me and is a recent game. Might be interesting to catch a replay of that game to see what Purdue did passing wise. Then again, they lost 34-9 and only rushed 26 times versus 62 pass attempts. Our offense will definitely be more balanced so that game probably won't be useful. Maybe we'll just stick to what we know and try to eliminate mistakes. That would probably be good enough for a win.

 
I think you can beat PSU over the top. Their safety's aren't as good as the corners and they support fast. That might be one thing to try. I would also try and exploit those edges. They have some good LB's so that needs to be taken in account. B1G teams seem to be strong up the middle but a little slower on the edge. Have to protect the ball as they are very opportunistic. I am not sure how good the zone read will be for this game. I think maybe toss sweeps and G series plays would be good. Some boots again if the LB's are flowing fast. Lots of play action to keep those Lb's in place, pull up the safety's. Would like to see the lead option where is a designated Qb keep and option pass.

Some wheel routes too.. Diamond would be good in this game I think.

 
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