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Pelini hasn't been as fortunate at quarterback this season. Taylor Martinez, the only QB in Nebraska history to start four season openers, has been ruled out for the year with a foot injury. Freshman Tommy Armstrong Jr., a Rivals.com three-star prospect, started the past three games. While he threw four touchdowns, he also threw four interceptions. It's still unclear if he's the long-term answer. He definitely hasn't been putting up numbers like Hackenberg. Senior Ron Kellogg III has also seen playing time since Martinez went down, and Pelini said he could see snaps against Penn State, too, depending on the flow of the game. Nebraska's offense, however, doesn't revolve around a pass-first attack. Instead it is a rush-minded philosophy – despite having an offensive line that has absorbed its fair share of bumps and bruises this season. The Big Ten's leading rusher – Ameer Abdullah – is the one who makes the Huskers tick. A junior with NFL potential, Abdullah averages 133.6 yards per game with an average of 6.5 yards per carry. Bill O'Brien said he's "one of the best players in this conference, an explosive guy. He runs with a great lean. He's got great quickness. I think he's obviously got a pro career ahead of him. He's just a really good football player, and we'll have to make sure we know where he is on every play. " Last year vs. the Lions, he posted 116 yards on the ground, including a long run of 33 yards. He gained most of his yards on outside handoffs, pitches and tosses, because the Cornhuskers had studied Penn State's defense and knew it was susceptible to off-tackle runs. Considering that Penn State hired a new defensive coordinator in John Butler, Abdullah is expecting a different game plan from the Nittany Lions in 2013. But edge-rush containment, especially from the defensive ends, hasn't been the defense's strong suit this season. "I'm sure they are going to scheme for it, Abdullah said. "I know they wouldn't " just leave everything the same. I know the front they were giving us was very vulnerable to the toss play. If it wasn't broke, don't fix it. That's one thing I like to live by. The toss was working, so we kept running it." In other words, watch out for the toss N O V E M B E R play. Abdullah averaged 3.7 yards per carry last year in Lincoln, but he's expecting even tougher sailing in University Park. He had a couple of touches as a freshman when the Cornhuskers visited in 2011, one of which was for a touchdown in a 17-14 Nebraska win. During that game, Penn State surrendered 121 yards to Nebraska's leading rusher, Rex Burkhead. Although Burkhead had power and deceptive speed, Abdullah is a more dynamic athlete. He knows what it's like playing in Beaver Stadium, he saw Burkhead have success and knows that it didn't come easy. "I played there my freshman year, Ab" dullah said. "It was a pretty good atmosphere, especially with what they were going through [in 2011]. It's going to be tough. Those guys – they always play hard. Every time, they bring their best effort. They have a lot of young guys on their team who are hungry for wins. It's going to be a good game Saturday. " It's likely to be a close one. The oddsmakers picked Penn State as a two-point favorite, so the question is: Will Nebraska have enough in the tank for another close battle? They gave Michigan State everything it could handle last week until the Spartans separated in the fourth quarter for the 41-28 victory. Abdullah was the workhorse. Against arguably the best defense in the country, No. 8 rushed the ball 22 times for 123 yards and also tallied a reception. He took a beating, but for him, it was worth it. And he's ready for more Saturday. When it comes to losses, Abdullah's philosophy is comparable to O'Brien's: Winning the next game makes the most recent loss much easier to deal with. "Move on. That's part of college football. That's why you have to respect the game," Abdullah said. "That's why you have to train for situations like that each week. Michigan State came out and they controlled the ball. Their defense was pretty good, but it was also self-inflicted things. That's something we really harp on and we didn't capitalize on it. But at this point you have to move on. We've got two games [remaining] in the regular season and a bowl game in the postseason. We can't hang our heads because of this loss. It happened. We can't go back in time. You've got to move on. " 2 0 , 2 0 1 3 2 BWI'S FORECAST NATE BAUER 2013 RECORD 6-4 If the Nittany Lions can run the ball like they did against Purdue, they'll have some success against this suspect Nebraska defense. The issue, of course, is whether or not the Huskers do the same. Unfortunately for Penn State's seniors, I think Nebraska will have more success. NEBRASKA 34, PENN STATE 28 PHIL GROSZ 2013 RECORD 6-4 I was shocked to see that Penn State was a favorite in this game. That probably shows how disappointing the Cornhuskers' loss to Michigan State was. PSU wants this game more. If it controls the game with a balanced attack, the final score will be close. PENN STATE 31, NEBRASKA 28 MATT HERB 2013 RECORD 8-2 Two talented but turnover-prone offenses. Two proud but flawed defenses. I could see this game playing out a lot like the Michigan game earlier this year, minus the miracle finish. NEBRASKA 34, PENN STATE 31 TIM OWEN 2013 RECORD 7-3 We've seen some exciting games at Beaver Stadium this season, and I think this will rank up there with the best (Michigan and Illinois). I'm expecting a close, high-scoring affair with PSU gutting it out at the end. PENN STATE 38, NEBRASKA 35 RYAN SNYDER 2013 RECORD 8-2 Penn State pulls out all the stops in hope of a senior-day win on Saturday, but it won't be able to keep pace with the Cornhuskers. NEBRASKA 42, PENN STATE 31 B LUE WH I T E ON L I N E .COM

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