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It seemed as though it should have worked out. The Nittany Lions' defense played probably its best game of the season, surrendering only 16 points to the fourth-highest-scoring offense in the Big Ten. Penn State's offense generated a handful of big plays, including a 46-yard go-ahead touchdown by tight end Jesse James early in the fourth quarter. But the Lions (6-5, 3-4 Big Ten) weren't able to sustain their drives, and their special teams faltered several times amid the 30 mph wind gusts, snow squalls and frigid temperatures that swept into central Pennsylvania just before kickoff. "I thought the defense played a good game," coach Bill O'Brien said. "Offensively, we did well in spots, but in other spots we didn't do so good, so we didn't hold up our end of the bargain. The defense played a whale of a game. But you win as a team and you lose as a team. We've had times this year when we've played well offensively and haven't played well defensively. It's a team game, and we lost as a team today." With Bill Belton bothered by a case of strep throat, the Lions got 149 rushing yards on 35 carries from Zach Zwinak, many of which he gained by cutting back against the grain and dragging Nebraska tacklers along with him. Said O'Brien, "He's a tough kid, and he's running hard. He banged his shoulder up, he banged his wrist up, and he kept running." But Zwinak's performance and Christian Hackenberg's passing effort – he repeatedly rolled away from Nebraska's pressure and completed 16 of 33 for 217 yards – weren't enough to offset a series of special teams gaffes. The Lions missed a PAT, surrendered a 99-yard touchdown on a kickoff return by Kenny Bell in the third quarter and had a punt blocked when Alex Butterworth mishandled a snap. The blocked punt didn't prove costly, as Nebraska went on to fumble on the Penn State goal line. But Penn State paid dearly for the rest. "We gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown, which is not good," O'Brien said. "The kids are trying hard, though. They're good kids, and they're trying hard and we've got to continue to work n o V e m b e R SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 0:33 PSU Breneman, Adam 2-yard pass from Hackenberg, Christian (Ficken, Sam kick failed) 8 plays, 40 yards, TOP 3:49.........................................................................6-0 2ND 13:14 NEB Enunwa, Quincy 27-yard pass from Kellogg III, R. (Smith, Pat kick) 3RD 10:37 PSU Hackenberg, Christian 7-yard run (Ficken, Sam kick) 7 plays, 91 yards, TOP 2:11.........................................................................7-6 2 plays, 8 yards, TOP 0:40.........................................................................13-7 10:22 NEB Bell, Kenny 99-yard kickoff return (Smith, Pat kick).................................14-13 1:11 NEB Smith, Pat 39-yard field goal 14:50 PSU James, Jesse 46-yard pass from Hackenberg, Christian (Ficken, Sam kick) 9 plays, 30 yards, TOP 3:14.....................................................................17-13 4TH 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:21.....................................................................20-17 4:29 NEB Smith, Pat 19-yard field goal 12 plays, 73 yards, TOP 4:27...................................................................20-20 OT 15:00 NEB Smith, Pat 42-yard field goal 4 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:00......................................................................23-20 on it and fix it. We work hard on special teams, and we're going to continue to work hard this coming week. " Three times, the Nittany Lions took the lead on Saturday only to give it up. They jumped on top late in the first quarter with a 40-yard drive on which Zwinak accounted for 27 yards. Adam Breneman finished it with a 2-yard touchdown catch on a bootleg by Hackenberg. The Cornhuskers switched quarterbacks, replacing starter Tommy Armstrong Jr. with Ron Kellogg III. Kellogg is the better passer of the two, and on his first drive, he showed it, throwing to Quincy Enunwa for a 27-yard touchdown and a 7-6 lead. In the third quarter, C.J. Olaniyan hit Kellogg from behind, stripping the ball and then falling on it at the Cornhuskers' 8-yard line. The Lions scored two plays later on a 7-yard rollout by Hackenberg, taking a 13-7 lead. But Nebraska answered with Bell's big return. Later, when Hackenberg hit James for that long touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the Cornhuskers rallied to score the tying field goal. The Cornhuskers (8-3, 5-2) have been having an up-and-down season, but even in their losses – to UCLA, Minnesota and Michigan State – they've been able to move the ball. In a 41-28 loss 2 3 , 2 0 1 3 2 to the Spartans last week, they amassed 182 rushing yards and nearly 400 total yards against the Big Ten's stingiest defense. Against Penn State, they didn't have quite as much success. They were outrushed (170-168), out-passed (217-192) and outgained (387-360). And yet they still found a way. "Give Nebraska a lot of credit, O'Brien " said. "They played a good game. They came out on top. We didn't do good enough to win the game. " So now it's on to Wisconsin for the season finale. The Badgers defeated Minnesota, 20-7, on Saturday and will be looking to send their seniors out with a victory in their final game at Camp Randall Stadium. Penn State still has a shot at a winning season, but it won't be easy. Heading into their visit to Minneapolis, the Badgers were second in the Big Ten in both total offense (505.8 yards per game) and total defense (288.3). Still, the Lions have yet to lose two in a row under O'Brien and go into the game with their confidence intact. Said Breneman, "We have an opportunity to finish the season on a pretty strong note if we beat Wisconsin. So we're going to put everything we have into this last week and try to finish the season on a winning note. " b l u e w h i t e o n l i n e . c o m

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