Penn St. 30
Nebraska 24

Sep. 26, 1981 • 1:30 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE • ESPN
1st 2nd 3rd 4th  T 
Penn St. 3 14 3 10 30
Nebraska 0 10 14 0 24 
First quarter
PSU: Brian Franco 29 field goal, 9:45
Second quarter
NEB: Roger Craig 2 run (Kevin Seibel kick) 12:20
PSU: Franco 48 field goal, 8:33
PSU: Franco 39 field goal, 6:26
NEB: Eddie Neil 30 field goal, 1:25
PSU: Kenny Jackson 33 pass from Todd Blackledge (Joel Coles pass from Blackledge) 0:30
Third quarter
NEB: Jamie Williams 9 pass from Mark Mauer (Seibel kick) 11:57
PSU: Franco 20 field goal, 6:29
NEB: Scott Woodard 16 pass from Mauer (Seibel kick) 2:39
Fourth quarter
PSU: Coles 2 run (Franco kick) 11:02
PSU: Franco 32 field goal, 4:54

                          PSU        NU
First downs                18        18
Rushes-yards           56-327    52-255
Passing yards              87       142
  Comp-Att-Int         4-13-0    9-22-1
Total offense          69-414    74-397
Return yards               38         0
Punts                  6-39.7    5-44.4
Fumbles-lost              7-4       6-3
Penalties-yards          2-10      4-30
Time of possession      32:38     27:22

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING
PSU: Curt Warner 28-238, Jon Williams 11-30, Mike Meade 6-27, Coles 5-21
 
NEB: Craig 24-121, Phil Bates 10-40, Mike Rozier 5-23, Mauer 4-20

PASSING
PSU: Blackledge 4-13-0-87
NEB: Mauer 8-21-1-87, Mason 1-1-0-55

RECEIVING
PSU: Jackson 1-33, Mike McCloskey 1-30
NEB: Woodard 3-46, Williams 2-64, Craig 2-9

ADDITIONAL STATS

Attandance: 76,308

Coverage

Recap

1981 Penn State-Nebraska photo Curt WarnerSteve Damkroger tries to tackle Curt Warner in the first quarter as Warner gains 14 yards on a run. · Santa Cruz Sentinel · Newspapers.com

Nittany Lions roar back in final quarter

Helped by awesome offensive line play, Penn State tailback Curt Warner ran through and around the Nebraska defense for 238 yards, and the Nittany Lions came from behind in the fourth quarter to post a thrilling 30-24 win over the Huskers.

The game saw five lead changes, three in the first half when the Lions moved out to a 17-10 lead only to see Husker quarterback Mark Mauer throw two touchdown passes in the third quarter to give Nebraska its second lead of the game, 24-20, entering the final 15 minutes.

However, Penn State took the lead for good early in the fourth quarter when Joel Coles capped a 61-yard drive with a two-yard TD run. Then, helped by a 56-yard run by Warner, the Lions put Brian Franco in position for his fifth field goal of the day and the game’s final points with 4:54 left.

Roger Craig had another fine day for the Huskers with 121 yards, but it wasn’t enough to offset Warner’s performance.

Game stories
Omaha World-Herald
Lincoln Journal Star
Associated Press
Video
Pregame & team info
1981 schedule
04/25 Whites 22, Reds 21
09/12 @ Iowa L 7-10
09/19 Florida St. W 34-14
09/26 Penn St. L 24-30
10/03 Auburn W 17-3
10/10 Colorado W 59-0
10/17 @ Kansas St. W 49-3
10/24 @ Missouri W 6-0
10/31 Kansas W 31-15
11/07 @ Oklahoma St. W 54-7
11/14 Iowa St. W 31-7
11/21 @ Oklahoma W 37-14
01/01 Clemson L 15-22
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