Saturday night in Happy Valley means one thing: national television, 100,000 fans, and a showdown between two programs that both believe they’re climbing back toward Big Ten supremacy. Nebraska rolls in with momentum, toughness, and a defense that has quietly matured into one of the more disruptive units in the conference. Penn State counters with talent, speed, and of course the Nittany Lion, a mascot that continues to confuse zoologists everywhere. Is it a mountain lion? A house cat with a gym membership? A taxidermy project gone wrong? No one really knows. But he’ll be there, leaping awkwardly and doing that single-paw flex he loves so much.
Nebraska arrives with a swagger we haven’t seen in years, and a big chunk of that starts with TJ Lateef, the California-cool quarterback who plays like he’s ordering acai bowls between drives. Lateef has settled into the offense with surprising calm, reading defenses, making smart throws, and keeping plays alive with his legs. He’s not rattled by the moment, the noise, or the fact that a grown man in a furry lion suit is going to be screaming at him from six feet away. TJ’s seen weirder things in Los Angeles.
Next to him is the engine of the offense, Emmett Johnson, the best running back in the Big Ten and the human embodiment of “we’re gonna keep running it and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.” If Emmett hits the second level, call your insurance agent because someone’s about to file a claim. Penn State’s linebackers may be fast, but fast doesn’t matter when you’re meeting a man who treats arm tackles like minor inconveniences and/or speed bumps on the highway to the end zone.
Penn State’s defense will throw athletes at Nebraska, but this isn’t the old Huskers offense. This version has rhythm, purpose, and a nasty streak. And defensively, Nebraska is built for this kind of game. The Blackshirts have been punching offensive lines in the mouth all year, and they’d love nothing more than to turn the Nittany Lion into a nervous house cat by halftime.
And speaking of the Lion, look, if that creature showed up on your porch at night, you wouldn’t run. You’d hand it a bowl of milk and call animal control. Meanwhile, real corn feeds nations, feeds livestock, and feeds victory. Corn is currency. Corn is power.
Prediction: Under national-television lights, Nebraska leans on Lateef’s poise and Emmett’s relentless motor.
Huskers 27, Penn State 23.
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