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amidst a tragedy that was a lot bigger than the football game." Pelini's Cornhuskers stonewalled a second-half comeback attempt by Stephfon Greene and Penn State and hung on for a 17-14 victory, spoiling what would have been an upbeat mo- ment in an otherwise dark and gloomy week in Happy Valley. Fast-forward a year, and Penn State and Nebraska are set to meet again. Circumstances, for the most part, are different at Penn State. Bill O'Brien is in charge, and while certain aspects of the Sandusky scandal still rise to the surface on occasion, the football pro- gram has begun to move to forward. "I think [O'Brien] has done a great job," Pelini said. "I think their staff has done a great job. It says a lot for how they have handled the situation and come together. It wasn't easy, but I think they've done remarkably well, considering." On the field, Pelini has done pretty well, too. His Cornhuskers are ranked 18th by The Associated Press. They have won three in a row, and this year they are the ones with their sights set on a berth in the Big Ten Champi- onship Game. Nebraska is coming off a thrilling 28-24 victory over Michigan State last weekend. It boasts arguably the best pass defense in the country, and its inside option attack is just as effective as Ohio State's, a troubling thought for Penn State, which struggled to contain Buckeye quarterback Braxton Miller. Taylor Martinez is the centerpiece of the Husker offense, and, like Miller, he is a dual-threat quarterback. Or as O'Brien calls him, "an accurate guy who can run." He needs just five more passing touchdowns to break Ne- braska's all-time record, but he's also one of only three active Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks to rush for more than 2,500 career yards. And lately, Martinez has been showing off his accurate arm and active legs late in the game, when it seems to matter most. So far this season, Nebraska has outscored opponents 37-14 in the fourth quarter. During the fourth quarter of the Huskers' past two games on the road, Martinez has ac- counted for 323 total yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. O'Brien said the Nittany Lions will be "trying to keep [the game] close, so in the fourth quarter it's still a game." If they succeed, the last 15 minutes will definitely be the most interesting on Saturday afternoon. And much of the load could fall on Martinez's shoulders, especially if Rex Burkhead is unable to play. Burk- head, an All-Big Ten running back, injured his left knee in the opener against Southern Mississippi and has since missed all or part of seven games. When asked about Burkhead's sta- tus for the Penn State game, Pelini said, "It just depends on how he keeps progressing. When he's feeling 100 percent, that's when we'll put him back out there." He added, "One thing that I know about Rex is that if he feels like he can play, he'll play. He's been pushing really, really hard in his rehab. I know he's getting better. I just don't think he's quite there yet." If Burkhead, who rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown last year against the Nittany Lions, is unable to go, Pelini will turn to sophomore Ameer Abdullah. Abdullah is not a bad second option, as he has rushed for a team-high 826 yards and eight touch- downs and averages 5.5 yards per carry. In his four starts as Burkhead's replacement, Abdullah has rushed for over 100 yards in each game. While the Cornhuskers are deep at running back, perhaps their biggest strength is in the defensive backfield. Led by cornerbacks Stanley Jean- Baptiste and Josh Mitchell and safeties Daimion Stafford and P.J. Smith, Nebraska is allowing oppo- nents to complete only 46 percent of their pass attempts, the lowest com- pletion rate in the Football Bowl Sub- division. The Huskers rank fifth nationally with only 156 passing yards allowed per game. And the Blackshirts, as Nebraska fans call the members of their stingy defense, play their best football at Me- morial Stadium. They have yet to allow 300 yards of total offense at home, and opponents have only scored a combined six offensive touchdowns. N O V E M B E R 7 , 2 0 1 2 2 BWI'S FORECAST NATE BAUER RECORD 6-3 If Nebraska had a better run de- fense, or maybe even a better passing offense, I'd pick it with- out thinking twice. But there's good reason to think PSU can score 30 points, even if Ne- braska's offense puts up a fight. PENN STATE 31, NEBRASKA 28 PHIL GROSZ RECORD 6-3 Turnovers will play a big role. Penn State leads the Big Ten with a plus-nine turnover mar- gin, while Nebraska ranks last with a minus-nine. PENN STATE 31, NEBRASKA 27 MATT HERB RECORD 8-1 Penn State has been doing really well on the road lately, but this ain't West Lafayette or Cham- paign or even Iowa City. The home-field edge puts Nebraska over the top. NEBRASKA 27, PENN STATE 21 TIM OWEN RECORD 6-3 Penn State struggled against Ohio State's read-option attack. Nebraska will have a similar game plan. Can PSU match the Cornhuskers' points? NEBRASKA 31, PENN STATE 21 RYAN SNYDER RECORD 7-2 PSU plays its best game of the year and gets revenge on the Cornhuskers from last year's loss. PENN STATE 21, NEBRASKA 20 ERIC THOMAS RECORD 5-4 This is PSU's most important game. Banged up and resilient, the Lions can rise, but Nebraska is too clutch late in games. NEBRASKA 23, PENN STATE 21 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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