Nebraska at Penn State: Keys to victory and HOL Predictions

STATE COLLEGE, Penn. - Nebraska (4-6, 3-4) travels to Penn State (8-2, 5-2) on Saturday to take on a PSU team that is a play or two away from still being the College Football Playoff discussion.

Meanwhile the Huskers are arguably coming off the low point of the Mike Riley era - a 54-21 loss at Minnesota.

As we get closer to kickoff, here are the keys to a Nebraska victory over Penn State. NU currently sits as a 26 point underdog for today's game in State College.

KEY 1: Offensive rhythm

Nebraska needs to find a way today to get into a better offensive rhythm than we saw last week at Minnesota. That means being more efficient on early downs and capitalizing in short yardage situations.

KEY 2: Defending the zone read

We saw how Nebraska defended the zone read last week at Minnesota. The job is not going to get any easier today at Penn State. What improvements and adjustments has Bob Diaco made in a week?

KEY 3: Limit Barkley's touches and opportunities

There's no question Saquon Barkley will be the best player on the football field today. Whether it's as a runner, receiver or in the return game, Nebraska has to limit his overall opportunities. This will be much easier said than done.

KEY 4: Find turnover opportunities

For Nebraska to have a chance today, they need to figure out a away to force some turnovers. If the conditions are as wet and sloppy as some project, there should be some opportunities to do that.

KEY 5: Overall want to

How bad does this team want to win for Mike Riley, or at least play with more fight than we saw last week at Minnesota? This is really the biggest key going into today, as everybody obviously knows the current situation for Riley and his coaching staff.

Sean Callahan - HuskerOnline Publisher

There is really nothing to like about this match-up for Nebraska. The Huskers have struggled against explosive offenses, and Penn State has one of the most explosive offensive units in the conference. NU hasn't run the ball well all season, and they haven't protected with any type of consistency, especially since Michael Decker's injury at center. The only thing that could keep this game interesting would be the weather making it difficult on both teams, and Penn State just quite frankly not being up for this game.

Penn State 45, Nebraska 17

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Robin Washut - HuskerOnline Senior Writer

I’ve been covering Nebraska football since 2002, and I can probably remember maybe only a handful of times where I thought the Huskers had zero chance of winning going into a game. This is one of those instances.

Penn State 56, Nebraska 17

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Nate Clouse - HuskerOnline Lead Recruiting Analyst

In order to win this game Nebraska will have to shut down one of the best running backs in the country in Saquon Barkley while on defense, establish a ground game and give either Tanner Lee or possibly Patrick O’Brien time to throw from the pocket on offense. They’ve not been able to consistently do any of those things this season let alone all of them at the same time and I don’t think it will suddenly click for them in front of 107,000 loud fans in Beaver Stadium Saturday evening. This one could get ugly.

Penn State 48, Nebraska 17

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Mike'l Severe - Omaha World Herald Bottom Line

Penn state does a great job of stressing every level of a defense. If I was Bob Diaco I would try to pressure Trace McSorley and try to take him away. Hopefully POB, if he starts can pick up some first downs with his legs. It really hard to find any plusses for NU in this game. Just don't get anyone else hurt.

Penn State 49, Nebraska 14

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Andy Kendeigh - KETV Channel 7 Sports Director

The Huskers gave up 409 yards rushing at Minnesota so how many yards will Saquon Barkley rack up Saturday in Happy Valley? Under Mike Riley the Huskers are just 2-13 when an opponent has a 100-yard rusher. That trend continues Saturday.

Penn State 49, Nebraska 20