Nebraska Football: Three keys to victory vs Penn State

Nebraska football is 0-2 to start the season and next up is Penn State. How can the Huskers win their first game?

Most fans wouldn’t be surprised to hear the Nebraska Cornhuskers are 0-2 considering they were initially supposed to open the season up against two powerhouses in Ohio State and Wisconsin. While the Wisconsin game didn’t end up taking place, Northwestern proved to be a legitimate threat in the Big Ten this year and narrowly beat the Huskers last weekend.

With two losses already in the books, Nebraska is still looking for their first victory and will hope to get win No. 1 against Penn State this weekend. It’ll be the first game in Lincoln in 2020 and despite limited fan attendance, the stadium should be rocking.

Nebraska and Penn State are in similar boats. Neither team has won a game to this point and are looking to buck that trend in Lincoln this weekend. While the football rivalry isn’t quite as prominent as the volleyball rivalry between these two schools are, both teams are pretty desperate at this point, so this game should be a closely contested one.

How can Nebraska get that first coveted win of the 2020 season? Let’s take a look at how the Huskers can win this game against the Nittany Lions.

Defense has to show up again

I was pleasantly surprised by the defensive performance last week. They kept the Northwestern offense in check and weren’t the reason why Nebraska dropped to 0-2. Sean Clifford is going to be a tougher challenge to the Blackshirts than what Peyton Ramsey brought to the table, as he has the ability to use his legs to crush opposing defenses.

Luke Reimer showed up big last week and hopefully he can replicate that performance again, the Blackshirts might be showing signs of turning the corner.

Quarterbacks need to play better

I’m not sure who will get the start at quarterback for the Cornhuskers, but whoever it is needs to play better. Adrian Martinez lacks the confidence he had as a freshman and has looked rattled since last year. Luke McCaffrey was someone fans were looking to seeing more of this year and I’m all for him getting the start this week.

If McCaffrey does get the nod, he can’t throw a costly pick like he did last week. That was the play that effectively ended Nebraska’s chances of winning that game. McCaffrey needs to be careful with the football and if a receiver isn’t open and he has room to run, then by all means, run like the wind.

If Martinez gets the start, this could be his last chance to prove he’s the guy. Protect the football, make plays through the air and on the ground, and if nothing’s there, throw the ball away. Martinez’s time as the starter is running out, but if he gets a shot to play this weekend, he might be able to take advantage of a weaker Penn State defense than normal.

Forcing turnovers

Penn State has been an offense that has struggled to hold onto the football, turning it over seven times through their first three games. Nebraska is a team who knows all too well what it feels like to be turnover prone and this could be a game where we see a lot of giveaways and takeaways by both sides.

Nebraska’s defense forced two turnovers last week (two interceptions off of Ramsey) and Clifford has thrown at least two picks in every game this season. Obviously when a team is able to avoid giving the football to the other team, they have a better chance of winning and Nebraska needs all the help they can get.

The defense needs to be forcing takeaways and putting their offense in the best position as possible. The offense has had problems moving the football, so getting a turnover deep in the opposition’s territory could be the difference between winning and losing.

Both teams are winless this year and someone has to win. This is an opportunity for Nebraska to get their first win of the season and with the shortened schedule, there aren’t going to be as many chances for the Huskers to get a win. They need to take advantage of a weak Penn State team, force turnovers, and get that W.