Nebraska vs. Penn State: Keys to victory, HuskerOnline score predictions for Saturday

STATE COLLEGE, Penn. – Nebraska (7-3, 4-3) will try to keep the momentum going on Saturday at Penn State (4-6, 1-6), where the Huskers have not won since 2013.

As things get closer to kickoff, here are today’s keys to victory for NU against PSU.

Nebraska enters today’s game in State College as an 8.5-point underdog. Saturday’s game is set for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff on NBC.

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KEYS TO VICTORY: Nebraska vs. Penn State

KEY 1: Lateef’s ability to handle the pressure

Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is one of the best in the game at dialing up pressure. Nebraska saw plenty of it last year at Ohio State when he coordinated the Buckeyes to a national championship. He has nothing to lose. Expect heavy pressure at QB TJ Lateef. How will he handle it?

KEY 2: Getting off blocks on early run downs

Both Penn State running backs, Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, are two of the best backs in the Big Ten. The pair has combined for 271 carries for 1,333 yards and 21 touchdowns. NU must stand up to the run early and get off blocks. Allen and Singleton have a combined 29 runs of 10+ yards.

KEY 3: Find 25+ quality touches for Emmett Johnson

That said, Nebraska has its own weapon at running back in Emmett Johnson, who leads the Big Ten with 203 carries for 1,131 yards and 11 touchdowns. Johnson has a combined 31 runs of 10+ yards. The Huskers must rely on their run game and ensure Johnson receives at least 25 quality touches in the game plan.

KEY 4: Get QB Ethan Grunekmeyer off-blanced

Penn State will start Ethan Grunekmeyer at quarterback. He has just 689 yards passing in 112 attempts. He has only completed three passes that have traveled 20+ yards. NU needs to get Grunekmeyer off balance and expect a lot of underneath passes.

KEY 5: Handling the crowd noise

The only other road venue Nebraska has faced that will be comparable to Penn State in 2025 is Minnesota on a Friday night. For Lateef, this will be quite the challenge. I still have flashbacks of Jammal Lord in State College back in 2002, as the Beaver Stadium crowd engulfed him and the Husker offense. NU has to be able to handle the crowd, especially in a night game atmosphere.

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Expert takes

Sean Callahan – HuskerOnline Publisher

What Penn State does well on offense has been a problem for most of the season. I expect NU to take PSU into the fourth quarter, but they won’t have enough to slow down the Nittany Lions running attack to leave State College with a win.

Penn State 26, Nebraska 20

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Steven Sipple – HuskerOnline columnist

Nebraska will push Penn State into the very late stages of the game. Look around, though. College football is largely about being able to close the deal in tight games. Falling short doesn’t really count for much anymore — in most cases. That said, look for TJ Lateef to again play well and Emmett Johnson to exceed 100 yards rushing. The Huskers will put forth a good performance – even against the Nittany Lions’ rushing attack — but will need something better than “good” to close this one out.

Penn State 31, Nebraska 24

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Robin Washut – HuskerOnline senior writer

It’s rare that there are so many unknowns going into a game this late in the season, but both Nebraska and Penn State have plenty of questions still to answer tonight. The Nittany Lions have played much better as of late, while NU is coming off arguably its most complete performance of the season and fresh off a bye week. I see TJ Lateef and Emmett Johnson making enough plays to help Matt Rhule win another return to State College.

Nebraska 27, Penn State 24

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Andy Kendeigh – KETV ABC-Omaha

The Huskers are 3-0 this season when out-rushing its opponent and that stat will be as much about stopping Penn State’s rushing attack as it is Emmett Johnson racking up rushing yards.  If Nebraska can limit Penn State’s run game, the Huskers will leave Happy Valley happy.

Nebraska 24, Penn State 23

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Jim Rose – 1110 KFAB Radio-Omaha

Pay no attention to two things:  Nebraska’s cakewalk at UCLA and Penn State’s six-game losing streak.   UCLA is the worst defense in the Big 10, and PSU’s losses were to good (except UCLA, not great but good teams). This one will boil down to which giving defense (both allow a lot of rushing yards) gets a few third-down stops.  It’s Senior Day at Happy Valley, which counts.  And they MUST win to keep bowl hopes alive.  TJ will make some special plays in this one.   He’ll also get hit…hard. 

Penn State 21, Nebraska 17

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Mike’l Severe – Big Red Wrap-Up

Based on conference numbers, the two teams are fairly even. The biggest difference is the pressure that Penn State has been causing the last few games. PSU’s sack percentage is at 9% over the last three games. The other issue is the Lions’ run game that has underperformed this season (5.3 in 2024, 4.2 in 2025), but the Huskers are 16th in the B1G vs the run. LaFreak alert, PSU has allowed two QBs to gain over 100 yards rushing this season.

Nebraska 24, Penn State 23

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HuskerOnline Week 13 Score Predictions

Week 13	Sean Callahan	Steven Sipple	Robin Washut	Andy Kendeigh	Jim Rose	Mike’l Severe
Nebraska at Penn State (-8.5)	26-20 Penn State	31-24 Penn State	27-24 Nebraska	24-23 Nebraska	21-17 Penn State	24-23 Nebraska
Minnesota at Northwestern (-3.5)	27-20 Northwestern	27-24 Northwestern	21-20 Minnesota	24-20 Northwestern	27-17 Northwestern	24-20 Northwestern
USC at Oregon (-9.5)	34-27 Oregon	34-21 Oregon	31-28 Oregon	37-24 Oregon	35-28 Oregon	37-26 Oregon
Illinois at Wisconsin (+8.5)	27-23 Illinois	21-20 Illinois	23-17 Illinois	23-10 Illinois	31-17 Illinois	27-20 Illinois
Missouri at Oklahoma (-7.5)	34-24 Oklahoma	28-20 Oklahoma	35-30 Oklahoma	31-28 Oklahoma	35-24 Oklahoma	24-17 Oklahoma
BYU at Cincinnati (+2.5)	34-31 Cincinnati	34-28 Cincinnati	38-31 BYU	34-28 BYU	35-24 BYU	31-30 Cincinnati

Overall standings

Picker	Straight Up	Vs. Spread	Cumulative
Robin Washut	55-17	36-36	91
Sean Callahan	51-21	34-38	85
Mike’l Severe	46-26	39-33	85
Jim Rose	47-25	36-36	83
Andy Kendeigh	44-28	34-38	78
Steven Sipple	45-27	33-39	78

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Sean Callahan can be reached at [email protected] and is heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm.

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