Nov. 19, 2013
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GAME INFORMATION
TELEVISION: BTN
Eric Collins (p-by-p), Chuck Long (analyst) and Jon Jansen (sideline)
TV APPEARANCES: The Nittany Lions are appearing on television for the 239th time in their last 241 games.
RADIO: Penn State Sports Network (60 stations):
Steve Jones (p-by-p), Jack Ham (analyst), Loren Crispell (sideline).
XM: Ch. 197 Sirius:Ch. 108
Local: 93.7 FM & 1450 AM.
Nebraska Radio Network:Greg Sharpe (p-by-p), Matt Davison (analyst), Lane Grindle (sidelines).
Compass Media Networks: Gregg Daniels (p-by-p), Dale Hellestrae (analyst).
WEB: GameTracker and Live Audio available at GoPSUsports.com
SERIES: Penn State and Nebraska are meeting for the third time as conference opponents and 16th time overall, with Nebraska owning the on-field advantage, 8-7. After Saturday's contest, Penn State and Nebraska are not scheduled to meet again until Nov. 18, 2017 as the Huskers will be in the Big Ten's West Division.
COACHES
Bill O'Brien
PENN STATE RECORD: 14-8, 2nd year
OVERALL RECORD: Same
VS. Nebraska: 0-1
NOTABLE: Named Penn State's 15th head football coach on Jan. 6, 2012...Won first career game vs. Navy on Sept. 15, 2012...2012 Big Ten-Dave McClain Coach of the Year...2012 Bear Bryant, Maxwell Football Club and ESPN National Coach of the Year...Former New England Patriots offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick...Coached NFL MVP Tom Brady from 2009-11.
Bo Pelini
NEBRASKA RECORD: 56-23, 6th year
OVERALL RECORD: Same
VS. PENN STATE: 2-0
AT A GLANCE
Penn State will play its final four quarters inside Beaver Stadium during the 2013 season when the Nittany Lions welcome Nebraska for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on the Big Ten Network. Seventeen Nittany Lion seniors will be introduced in a pre-game ceremony.
Nebraska owns an 8-7 advantage in the series, having won the last three meetings. The Huskers posted a 32-23 decision at Memorial Stadium last year. The Nittany Lions have a 5-2 on-field mark against Nebraska at home, with Saturday's game marking the third time the two storied programs are meeting as Big Ten foes.
Penn State and Nebraska are among the 12 FBS programs that have posted 725 or more wins in program history. The Nittany Lions rank 12th on the list with 729 victories and Nebraska is fourth with 862 wins.
Allen Robinson's eight catches for 98 yards against Purdue gave the junior wideout a Penn State season record 81 catches on the season. A semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, he also owns the single season receiving yards list with 1,204 yards, passing Bobby Engram's 1,084 yards in 1995. Robinson leads the Big Ten in receptions (8.1 rpg) and receiving yards per game (120.4), ranking ninth and third, respectively, in the NCAA.
True freshman Christian Hackenberg is among the top Big Ten signal callers, ranking second in the conference in completions (194) and third in passing yards (239.9 ypg). Hackenberg has seven 200-yard passing games this year to break to Penn State freshman record.
The Huskers feature a big pass rush that leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth in the NCAA with 32 sacks. They are led by defensive ends Randy Gregory (8.5 sacks) and Avery Moss (4.5 sacks), who rank first and seventh in the Big Ten, respectively. Running back Ameer Abdullah leads the conference in rushing yards (133.6 ypg) and all-purpose yards (156.6 ypg), while Imani Cross ranks seventh in the conference with 10 touchdowns scored.