Penn State scored on six of its nine drives and the Nebraska football team fell to the Nittany Lions by a score of 37-10 on Saturday night in State College, Pa,.
Emmett Johnson totaled 151 all-purpose yards and logged his fourth straight game with over 100 rushing yards, as he had 103 on the day. Johnson became the first Husker since Ameer Abdullah in 2013 to rush for 100+ yards in four straight games.
TJ Lateef was 21-for-36 for 187 passing yards. He added 15 rushing yards. Jacory Barney Jr. led all players with 55 receiving yards on eight targets. Johnson and Dane Key each contributed 48 receiving yards. As a team, NU registered 318 yards of offense while allowing 412 for Penn State.
Johnson broke off a 52-yard run in the Huskers’ opening drive but the Huskers failed to convert a fourth down in the red zone.
Penn State opened the scoring on their seven-play, 98-yard opening drive, aided by a 50-yard run from Kaytron Allen. The Nittany Lions scored on a seven-yard pass to take a 7-0 lead with 7:22 left in the first quarter.
PSU extended the lead to 10-0 on a 10-play, 82 yard drive that culminated in a Ryan Barker 26-yard field goal. The drive included six rush attempts and a 50-yard pass from Ethan Grunkemeyer to Nicholas Singleton.
The Big Red scored its first points of the night on a 31-yard field goal from Kyle Cunanan, capping an eight-play, 48-yard drive. Lateef completed a 19-yard pass to Nyziah Hunter to put the ball at the Penn State 29-yard line, and a face mask by the Nittany Lions advanced NU to the 14-yard line.
Penn State struck right back, scoring on their third consecutive drive with a four-yard rushing touchdown from N. Singleton.
The Nittany Lions added to their total, making the score 23-3 on N. Singleton’s second touchdown of the day. The 14-yard drive started with a 21-yard punt return that combined with a late hit penalty to put Penn State inside the 15 with 2:25 left in the half. Barker missed the extra point for PSU.
Allen punched the ball into the end zone to extend Penn State’s lead to 30-3 on their opening drive of the half. He was responsible for 31 of PSU’s 75 yards on the drive.
The Huskers scored their first touchdown of the night late in the third quarter with a seven-play, 59-yard drive that culminated in a rushing score from Lateef. The freshman quarterback passed for 35 yards on the drive and ran for 17. NU cut Penn State’s lead to 30-10 with less than a minute to go before the final quarter of the game.
PSU responded with Allen’s second touchdown of the night to make the score 37-10. The Nittany Lions successfully converted a fake punt on fourth down to keep their drive alive.
NU will close out the regular season against Iowa on Friday, Nov. 28 at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff between the Huskers and Hawkeyes is set for 11 a.m. (CT) and will be televised on CBS. The game can also be heard across the Huskers Radio Network.
