Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/847744
P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> 2016 RECORD 9-4, 6-3 Big Ten COACH Mike Riley (15-11 in two sea- sons; career record: 108-91) SERIES RECORD Nebraska leads the all- time series, 9-7. MOST RECENT MEETING Allen Robin- son caught eight passes for 106 yards in his =nal appearance in Beaver Stadium and Zach Zwinak rushed for 149 yards, but it wasn't enough to stave o> a Ne- braska comeback. Pat Smith kicked a 19- yard =eld goal to tie the score late in the fourth quarter then hit a 47-yarder in overtime to give the visiting Corn- huskers a 23-20 victory on Nov. 23, 2013. EXPECTED STRENGTHS Nebraska is looking for a new quar- terback following Tommy Armstrong's graduation, but the coaching sta> seems to like its options. The presumptive starter is Tulane transfer Tanner Lee. A 6-foot-4, 203- pound junior, Lee looked sharp in the spring game, completing 13 of 19 at- tempts for 190 yards and three touchdowns. Red- shirt freshman Patrick O'Brien was also e>ec- tive, hitting 11 of 17 for 134 yards and a TD, and true freshman Tristan Gebbia was a revelation with 268 passing yards in his debut appearance. Gebbia is ex- pected to redshirt this fall, but that's a name to remember. Elsewhere, the of- fensive line returns =ve players with starting experience, and tight ends David Engelhaupt and Tyler Hoppes looked sharp this spring. The defense also has some playmakers, as safety Kieron Williams returns a?er making =ve interceptions last season. And kicker Drew Brown is one of the Big Ten's best, a three-year starter who hit 12 of 14 at- tempts last season. POTENTIAL CONCERNS The Corn- huskers have switched to a 3-4 defensive front following a coaching change that brought former Connecticut head coach Bob Diaco to Lincoln as defensive coor- dinator. Nebraska gave up 78 points in its =nal two games last season, as well as 62 points to Ohio State, so it's not hard to see why Riley felt that a switch was needed. The Huskers appear to have the personnel to make this system work without =tting a lot of square pegs into round holes, but they also had trouble last year coming up with sacks, ranking 11th in the conference with 26. Will the new alignment exacerbate that prob- lem? It's a legitimate concern. SCHEDULE The Cornhuskers have an intriguing nonconference matchup against Oregon in week two. Riley didn't enjoy much luck against the Ducks when he was at Oregon State from 1997 to 2014, going 6-12. But he has more talent at his dis- posal now than he did with the Beavers, while Oregon has nose dived the past two seasons and will be playing only its second game under new coach Willie Taggart. If they prevail in Eugene, there's a good chance the Cornhuskers will roll into October undefeated, as their other nonconfer- ence games are against Arkansas State and Northern Illinois, and they open Big Ten play with Rutgers and Illinois. Whether they roll out undefeated is an entirely separate question, as they face Wisconsin and Ohio State on Oct. 7 and 14, respectively. Both of those games will be in Lincoln, so that helps. But their other high-pro=le game – against Penn State on Nov. 18 – will take place in what is sure to be a very hostile Beaver Sta- dium. That doesn't help. GAME OF THE YEAR That game at Penn State could be extremely consequential for both teams; the Cornhuskers and Nittany Lions might both be eyeing di- visional championships, and the Lions will be looking for their =rst victory in the series since 2002. But if Nebraska has a score to settle, it's with Ohio State. The Buckeyes have lit up the Huskers in their past two matchups, scoring in the 60s both times. There's a reasonably good chance that both will be unbeaten when they meet on Oct. 14, which would make for a high-stakes showdown in Memorial Stadium. OUTLOOK A?er a 7-0 start, the Corn- huskers hit the skids last year, dropping four of their last six, thanks in large part to a hamstring injury that limited Arm- strong's availability. He's gone now, and the schedule is back-loaded again in 2017; in addition to that mid-October gauntlet, there are games against Northwestern, Penn State and Iowa in November. Does that portend another late-season fade? There's always that possibility, but if the quarterback situa- tion is as solid as expected and the de- fense adapts to its new scheme, Nebraska could be better equipped to handle a stressful November run than it was a year ago. Competing in the wide- open West Division, it may even have the manpower to reach the league title game for the =rst time since 2012. One thing's for sure: Husker Nation is hun- gry for a title. Nebraska hasn't won a conference championship of any kind since capturing the Big 12 crown in 1999. –M.H. NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS TOP RETURNEES PASSING Zack Darlington 2 of 6 | 14 yds. | 0 TD | 0 int. RUSHING Mikale Wilbon 15 att. | 91 yds. | 0 TD RECEIVING Stanley Morgan Jr. 33 rec. | 453 yds. | 2 TD TACKLING Kieron Williams 43 solo | 26 asst. | 69 total INTERCEPTIONS Kieron Williams 5 int. | 44 yds. W E E K 1 1 | N O V E M B E R 1 8 | B E A V E R S T A D I U M RILEY University of Nebraska