Kansas City Star: 2003 Nebraska vs. Penn State football

It seems like old times for Comhuskers Defense running attack lift Nebraska past Penn State By BLAIR KERKHOFF The Kansas City Star Can’t punch it in Seven Nebraska drives reached at least the Penn State 24-yard line Saturday Only one resulted in a TD: Drive end Result PSU 19 Dyches 36 FG PSU 16 Interception PSU 18 Dyches 35 FG PSU 24 Dyches 41 FG End zone lord 3 TD run PSU 17 Missed FG PSU 15 Dyches 32 FG pounded out 337 rushing yards and held possession for nearly 40 minutes The Comhuskers got stops when they needed them in the fourth quarter although the biggest defensive play was an unforced fumble by Nittany Lions quarterback Zack Mills that linebacker Barrett Ruud wrestled away in a scrum Still game highlights should be shown only in black and white on grainy film And only in movie theaters with one screen Nebraska logged 72 rushing attempts 32 by running back Josh Davis who gained a career best 179 yards mostly on 4-yard plows “When we keep running the ball we feel like they’re getting tired and we’re getting stronger” Davis said The exception to the short -burst trend was a 42 yard gain made possible by two leveling blocks by wide receiver Ross Pilkington What else is a receiver to do in this offense? This isn’t what Nebraska desires but the 1 luskers are forced to play this way because senior quarterback Jammal Lord hasn’t proved to be an adequate passer He completed four of six for 60 yards but woefully underthrew an open Pilkington in the end zone in the first half for an LINCOLN Neb — Winning the old-fashioned way with a clock-eating running game and punishing defense is not Nebraska’s nod to nostalgia It’s the only way the Comhuskers can win The No 18 Huskers outlasted Penn State 18-10 on Saturday in a throw-back kind of game that befits two tradition-rich programs that wear about the same uniforms they did 30 years ago — — Nebraska 3-0 The Associated Press Jammal Lord struggled with his passing — again — but helped lead Nebraska past Penn State with his running Saturday in Lincoln Neb NO 18 NEBRASKA 18 PENN STATE 10 interception Nebraska’s red-zone problems continue The Huskers entered the game with four touchdowns in 13 drives that reached the opponent’s 20 They had only three David Dyches field goals to show for their first four pushes deep in Lions’ territory “It’s obvious we have to get something going in the passing game but at times we didn’t feel comfortable getting that thing off” Nebraska coach Frank Solich said Solich didn’t pull lord for freshman Joe Dailey who became a fan favorite with his play in reserve last week against Utah State Dailey warmed up some but a poor week of practice kept him on the bench Also Dailey’s left shoulder was wrapped “There’s a big difference between last week and being in a game like this especially if you’re a freshman” Solich said Besides with Davis running behind a stout offensive line and the defense coming up big all night Nebraska was content to muscle its way through The Huskers trailed 10-9 at halftime took the second-half kick and ran the baD on all 16 plays of an 80-yard touchdown drive that covered more than 8 minutes Davis had seven straight carries at one stretch Lord carried it over from the 3 on an option and when Davis got stuffed on the conversion attempt Nebraska left itself with a shaky 15-10 lead That’s when the defense came through The Comhuskers held a third straight opponent to fewer than 100 rushing yards Penn State had 44 on the ground “They did a great job stopping the run” said Nittany Lions running back Michael Robinson who also takes snaps at quarterback “Everywhere I went there was a defender waiting for me” Penn State had one final shot trailing by eight with about 4 minutes left But after one first down Mills threw four straight incompletions “Our defense kept us very involved throughout the game” Solich said “That last drive they needed to get it done and that’s what they did”