Folks, Penn State football interim head coach Terry Smith and Ethan Grunkemeyer have done it. They have won their first game as head coach and starting quarterback.

The Nittany Lions’ 28-10 win against Michigan State on Saturday lifted the weight off the staff and players’ shoulders from a six-game losing streak. The victory, though, meant more than that. With two games left and a 4-6 record, Penn State is still bowl eligible.

The next test takes place on Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Penn State enters the game as a 9.5-point favorite with a money line set at -355. You can read more about the betting lines for the game here.

The game also marks the return of Matt Rhule, the Cornhuskers’ head coach. The former State College Area High School student walked on to the Penn State team and played for four seasons.

A few weeks ago, the talk was that Rhule’s visit to Happy Valley would be a test for Pat Kraft to see if he deserves to be the next head coach. A two-year contract extension in October, though, has quashed those talks.

The Team

Nebraska enters the game against the Nittany Lions 7-3 on the season with wins against Cincinnati, UCLA, and Michigan State. The Cornhuskers are 4-3 in Big Ten play with a 4-2 record at home and a 2-1 record on the road.

Rhule, who is entering his third season with the team, will lead Nebraska out against Penn State for the first time. The last time he coached against Penn State was with Temple in 2015, when the Owls defeated the Nittany Lions 27-10.

The former Penn State player joined Nebraska after an unsuccessful stint with the Carolina Panthers. Before that, he was with Baylor, winning the 2019 Sporting News National Coach of the Year.

The offensive coordinator for Nebraska is Dana Holgorsen. He is in his first full season with the Cornhuskers after joining them in November last season and taking over the play-calling duties for the final four games of the year.

Holgorsen is a former head coach with Houston and West Virginia and last served as an offensive coordinator in 2010 with Oklahoma State.

Leading the defense is John Butler, also in his first full season as the defensive coordinator. He was on staff in 2024 as the secondary coach and pass game coordinator. He first took over the defense for the 2024 Pinstripe Bowl.

The Offense

Through 10 games, Nebraska is averaging 32.50 points per game and 385.6 total yards per game. A large part of that has been the passing game, with 248.2 yards per game.

With that being said, those averages are from nine games with star quarterback Dylan Riola, who suffered a season-ending injury against USC on Saturday, November 1. Now, backup TJ Lateef has taken over the offense and will start against Penn State.

In his first career start against UCLA, Lateef went 13 of 15 for 205 yards and three touchdowns. The Compton, California, native’s longest ball of the game was 56 yards. He also added five rushing attempts for 31 yards.

Running back Emmett Johnson takes some of the pressure off of Lateef as he leads the Big Ten with 1,131 rushing yards. Nebraska has looked his way more than ever in the last three games, giving him 27, 29, and 28 attempts.

The passing game has been really spread out, with five players over 200 receiving yards, but no one over 600. Nyziah Hunter leads the way with 592 yards and five touchdowns on 41 receptions. Jacory Barney Jr, Dane Key, Johnson, and Luke Lindenmeyer will also be looked at during the game.

While Lateef was not sacked against UCLA, the Cornhusker offensive line has struggled at times throughout the season. Allowing seven sacks against Michigan and nine against Minnesota. Jim Knowles has been dialing up more blitzes the past few games, so this is an interesting thing to watch.

The Defense

After the Michigan game, Nebraska’s defense took a lot of flak, but in truth, it’s been the strongest part of the team throughout the season. It has allowed 19.90 points per game and 295.7 yards.

The Cornhuskers’ strength has been the pass defense, ranking third nationally with just 134.6 yards passing allowed per game. DeShon Singleton has been a big part of this success in the passing game. The safety has 56 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions, and two quarterback hurries.

The secondary has had to be elite this season as the defensive line has struggled to get to the quarterback. Freshman Williams Nwaneri leads the team with 2.5 sacks, but other than that, there has not been consistent productivity from anyone else.

The defensive line struggles carry over to the run game as well. The Cornhuskers rank 91st in the nation in stopping the run, allowing 161.1 yards per game.

Nebraska was first exposed to this against Cincinnati in the season opener when quarterback Brendan Soresby almost won the game with his legs alone. He finished with 96 yards, leading his team.

Against Michigan, running back Justice Haynes ran for 179 yards and a touchdown on just 17 carries. Jordan Marshall and Bryce Underwood added another 141 yards and two touchdowns.

Special Teams

Kyle Cunanan has been decent as the field goal kicker, hitting everything from under 40 yards this season on 15 attempts. He has missed all three attempts over 40 yards, although his career-long is 52 yards.

The punter is Archie Wilson, who is averaging 39.8 yards per punt. On 26 attempts, 11 have been pinned within the 20-yard line.

Kenneth Williams, a running back, has returned one kickoff this season on 12 attempts. He has 395 yards this season on returns, averaging 32.9 yards.