On a cold November evening in Beaver Stadium, the Penn State Nittany Lions played the way they wished they had all year and pounded the Nebraska Cornhuskers 37-10 on Senior Night. The Lions came into the contest 4-6, having lost to the #1, #2 and #6 ranked teams in the nation, losing five of six games by a total of 16 points. They lost their starting quarterback in a 1-point loss to Northwestern, then fired their head coach, and lost by a single point to Iowa. This is a very talented team that was ranked #2 in the nation at the beginning of the season. Many pundits favored them to win the Big Ten. But they also had some tough luck and a very difficult schedule. Nebraska played the perfect patsy for them to exorcise their demons and vent their frustration. Penn State played with far more intensity and a take no prisoner’s attitude. They kept their starters in to the end and converted a fake punt in the fourth quarter when they were up by 20 points. So much for respecting Matt Rhule.
One might ask what Nebraska did on its bye week as they showed no evidence of having two weeks of preparation. Penn State dominated on both sides of the ball as well as special teams. Nebraska’s 10-game streak of holding opponents under 400 yards (the longest stretch since 2009) ended as the Lions put up 412 and could have produced more. They had nearly 300 yards on explosive plays. Going into this game, quarterback Ethan Grunekmeyer had only completed three passes that traveled 20+ yards. In this game alone he had five such plays. He finished 11 of 12 for 181 yards. Penn State rushed 39 times for 231 yards (averaging 5.9 yds per run). Nebraska’s diminutive defensive line was dominated up the middle and on the edge. On their first five possessions, Penn State scored four touchdowns and a field goal. Penn State’s point total was the most Nebraska has allowed all season.
Surprisingly, each team only punted twice. That’s because out of Nebraska’s nine possessions, they turned it over on downs 5 times going 1 for 6 on fourth downs. Nebraska was stuffed at the two-yard line on their first possession and had just 3 points on its first two trips to the red zone. For the game, the Huskers crossed the 50 six times and netted just 10 points, second only in futility to the 6-point debacle in Minnesota. TJ Lateef experienced his first sacks of the year as he was nailed three times. The offensive line was overwhelmed and Emmett Johnson’s usual 5 and 6-yard runs were often limited to just 2 to 3 yards.
TJ Lateef, in his second start, completed 21-of-37 passes for 187 yards. He struggles to move through his progressions, often scrambling if his primary receiver is covered. He rolls out well and made several good tosses and many bad ones, often overthrowing open receivers. He ran seven times for 31 positive yards, and in his three sacks lost 16, netting 15 yards rushing. He’s still a true freshman with limited snaps and has a significant upside. But the Penn State defense was not what he faced at UCLA (making one wonder how the Bruins rang up 42 against them). It’s also a lot to ask when you combine his limited experience with a leaky offensive line.
Nov 22, 2025; Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Yvan Kemajou (99) pressures Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback TJ Lateef during the fourth quarter at Beaver Stadium / Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images
It’s becoming more apparent with every game that Nebraska is going to have to invest some significant NIL money to attract some big uglies on both sides of the line. They may also need to consider a change in line coach’s as well. It was good to see DC Butler scrap the 3-3-5 in favor of four- and five-men fronts, but even that move didn’t slow down the Lion attack when you’re pushed back on every snap.
Emmett Johnson rushed 19 times for 103 yards and led receivers with a career-high eight catches for 48 yards. It was Johnson’s fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game, the first Husker to have four straight 100-yard rushing games since Ameer Abdullah in 2013. Over half his rushing yards came on a career-long 52-yard run on the opening drive of the game. Johnson increased his career rushing total to 2,243 yards, moving him into the top 25 on the Husker career rushing list and his 151 yards from scrimmage put Johnson up to 1,534 on the year. He remains the top all-purpose player in the Power Four and is the first Husker to gain 1,500 scrimmage yards since Ameer Abdullah in 2014.
Jacory Barney had 5 catches for 55 yards including a 30-yarder in the fourth quarter. Dane Key added 4 catches for 48 yards, and Nyziah Hunter had a solo reception for 19 yards. Carter Nelson had the only tight end reception in the game with an 8-yarder late.
Not much positive on the defensive side of the ball with the exception of safety DeShon Singleton who led the team with 10 tackles including his first career sack and a career-high two tackles for loss. When your safety leads the team in tackles and not your linebackers, you know it was a long evening. Vincent Shavers, Jr had 7 stops and redshirt freshman safety Rex Guthrie had four tackles to increase his season total to 57 tackles, just nine shy Michael Rose Ivey’s freshman record of 66 tackles in 2013.
Special teams also had a rough outing. They surrendered 26 yards on a 4th and 3 fake punt which led to a touchdown two plays later. With 4:06 left in the first half, Mekhi Nelson ill-advisedly chose to return a kick from the end zone and got nailed at the 10. That drive resulted in a punt that was returned 21-yards plus a 15-yard penalty added on when Archie Wilson hit the returner out of bounds. That gave the ball to Penn State at the NU 14, where they scored in three plays. Jacory Barney did have a 40-yard kickoff return and totaled 111 yards on four returns. With his receiving yardage, he had 166 all-purpose yards, his third game this season with at least 125 all-purpose yards.
The Huskers are once again struggling in November. They are 1-2 this year with Iowa next Friday. They were 1-3 last season and are 2-9 in November since Matt Rhule took the reins. The Huskers will need to flush this butt-kicking as fast as possible, as the Hawkeyes are another team that thrives on the run. On Saturday, Iowa trailed Michigan State 17-7 in the fourth quarter and scored 13 straight including a walk-off winning field goal to prevail 20-17. Just like they do. It will take a tremendous effort to defeat the Ditch Chickens, and salvage an 8-4 regular season, especially since the Huskers have only one conference win against a team with a winning record (Northwestern at 6-5). A loss Friday and a 7-5 record, after starting 5-1, will not sit well with the Husker faithful. A win, however, and many will see that gradual improvement is indeed taking place. Go Big Red!!!
Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
