• Box Score: Nebraska 17, Penn State 14
• Photo Showcase: NU vs. Penn State fans
• Photo Showcase: NU vs. Penn State game
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Nebraska strolled into Happy Valley and handled its business Saturday, beating Penn State 17-14 to culminate a controversial and gut-wrenching week for the Nittany Lion football program.
The Huskers gained an important 10-0 lead by halftime, then turned a Penn State fumble in the third quarter into a momentum-swinging touchdown before a Beaver Stadium crowd of 107,903.
Nos. 17 and 19 NU improved to 8-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten, and kept the pressure on Michigan State in the Legends Division despite the Spartans' win at Iowa.
The game started with a midfield prayer circle between the teams, a nod to victims of child abuse in the wake of the scandal involving former PSU defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky that swirled through State College.
The fallout included veteran coach Joe Paterno being fired on Wednesday night. The Paterno era had ended with 409 all-time wins, and left defensive coordinator Tom Bradley leading the Lions on Saturday after being named interim head coach Thursday.
After a scoreless first quarter, Nebraska then outplayed No. 12 Penn State (8-2, 5-1) in the second in what amounted to the difference.
Taylor Martinez completed throws of 14 yards to Ben Cotton and 12 yards to Kenny Bell to set up Brett Maher's 41-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
After the Husker defense stopped Penn State two more times, Nebraska put together a 12-play, 80-yard drive to make it 10-0 with 44 seconds left before halftime.
NU converted three third downs, the last on a pass-interference call on Penn State. Ameer Abdullah scored the touchdown on a 2-yard run.
Penn State came out with renewed energy starting the third quarter, and had moved into NU territory before the Husker defense made a huge play.
Cameron Meredith sacked Matt McGloin from behind and forced a fumble that was recovered by Eric Martin. Nebraska took over at its own 48.
Eight running plays later, I-back Rex Burkhead took an option pitch from Martinez and scored on a 14-yard carry to give the Huskers a 17-0 lead with 8:51 left in the third quarter. Burkhead scored a rushing TD for the 10th straight game to start the season and also went over 1,000 yards for the season.
Penn State tried to rally, starting with a 5-yard touchdown run by Stephfon Green on its next possession.
Green scored again in the fourth on a 6-yard run with 5:42 remaining. Penn State had taken over about four minutes earlier when linebacker Gerald Hodges recovered a Husker fumble at the Nittany Lions' 49.
But the comeback ended when the Nebraska defense stopped Penn State near midfield on the final drive of the game.
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• Video: NU coach Bo Pelini at the postgame press conference:
• Video: NU's Taylor Martinez at the postgame press conference:
• Video: NU's Cameron Meredith at the postgame press conference:
• Video: Emotions run high at Penn State-Nebraska game:
• Video: NU fans at Penn State:
• Video: Joe Paterno statue gets lots of attention:
• Video: NU's Rex Burkhead at the postgame press conference:
• Video: NU's Ron Brown at the postgame press conference:
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Check out Big Red Today, The World-Herald's comprehensive Husker source for news on game day and beyond. Keep up to date in real time with the live scoring, pregame and postgame chats, live blogging, Twitter updates, streaming video of the postgame press conference and more.
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More NU-PSU coverage:
• Husker fans to wear blue ribbons
• Nebraska - Penn State coping with distraction
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World-Herald correspondent Steve Beideck will be filing live updates from State College, Pa., before the game (with help back home from online managing editor Sam Womack). Then stay with Omaha.com for game time updates from The World-Herald's sports reporters.
Follow Steve Beideck on Twitter.
Share your game day plans at The World-Herald's Facebook page.
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IN THE STADIUM
The crowd of 107,903 in Beaver Stadium Saturday was the largest this year.
Affection for Penn State and Joe Paterno was proudly on display, both by fans and players. So was support for abuse victims.
The stadium was awash in blue — the color associated with child-abuse prevention — right down to the flags that accompanied the band. Outside the stadium, several students sold blue bracelets to raise money for RAINN, or the Rape Abuse Incest National Network.
Peachy Paterno — peach ice cream with peach slices — sold briskly on Saturday at the Berkey Creamery on campus, and there was word that "Paternoville" — the tent encampment that springs up so students can reserve the best seats at home games — would be keeping its moniker.
During the pregame prayer that took place in the middle of the field, Nebraska running backs coach Ron Brown said, "Lord, we know we don't have control of all these events that took place this week. But we do know that you are bigger than it all."
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GAME TIME
The most touching moment of the day was a pregame prayer that silenced the stadium and brought together both teams and officials.
World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel tweeted, "Lot of emotion in Beaver Stadium. Crowd chanted 'We Are Penn State.' Players walked out through tunnel, hand in hand."
Earlier the stadium had observed a moment of silence for child abuse victims.
Then Herbie Husker surprised football fans by somehow coming out of the Penn State tunnel. Lots of laughs from that one.
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'LET'S GO'
Penn State fans cheered their football team Saturday as it walked into Beaver Stadium for the first time in 46 years without Joe Paterno as its coach. The normally low-key Jay Paterno, Joe's son and a quarterbacks coach, pumped his fist and shouted, "Let's go!"
Jay Paterno high-fived passers-by on the way into the stadium while other players and staff members seemed to be tearing up. Three players wore shirts that read "Joe Knows Football."
Longtime assistant turned interim coach Tom Bradley promised in an on-field interview with ESPN that the Nittany Lions would play hard and represent Penn State well.
Much of Beaver Stadium is still empty 30 minutes before game time.
BEFORE THE GAME
Coach Tom Bradley went up the bleachers to shake hands and hug students before returning to locker room about 90 minutes before kickoff. Bradley was Paterno's lead assistant on the field for the past 11 years and is serving as interim coach.
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TWO HOURS TO KICKOFF
The first Penn State students — some shirtless — entered Beaver Stadium barking like pirates and singing U2's "Beautiful Day."
Husker receivers are on the field running routes, catching passes and loosening up for the game.
Spotted a few Joe Paterno cut-out masks among tailgating fans.
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BRIGHT AND EARLY
Tailgating is well underway near Beaver Stadium. There appears to be nothing but smiles firing up along with charcoal grills. The atmosphere is generally happy and upbeat.
Husker red is visible, but the amount of blue is impressive. Instead of the usual "whiteout," fans planned to wear blue in a sign of support for the alleged victims. Everyone in the Paternoville line — the student ticket section — seemed to be wearing blue jeans and blue sweaters or coats.
Spotted two interesting tailgate signs: "Proud Strong University" and "Joe Paterno Lion King Forever." This will be the first game in almost a half-century — 46 years, to be exact — that Paterno is not leading the Nittany Lions.
Authorities in State College warned that the security presence would be heightened and Saturday morning there were at least 150 state troopers getting their marching orders for the day.
Some Penn State tailgaters advised Nebraska fans to immediately find a police officer and report any Penn State "knuckleheads."
Accuweather Inc., The World-Herald's weather consultant reports that it was 37 degrees and sunny in State College around 9 a.m.. It should stay mostly sunny and mild today with a high temperature in the mid-50s.
For those Husker fans watching the game from Nebraska, at about 8 a.m. it was in the mid- to high-30s in Omaha and Lincoln, but both areas should warm up to the high 50s by the afternoon.
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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - After reeling for the past week, the healing for the Penn State family officially began Friday night at Old Main.
Thousands attended a 40-minute candlelight vigil at one of Happy Valley's iconic buildings to begin the process of recovering from the child sex abuse scandal involving former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
The police presence downtown was even stronger Friday than it was Thursday, the day after students and other members of the community took to the streets of State College to protest the firing of longtime head football coach Joe Paterno.
Football was the last thing on the minds of those gathered on the spacious lawn between Old Main and College Avenue where some of the rioting had touched less than 48 hours earlier.
The next stage of this tragic saga will be Saturday's 11 a.m. CST game between Penn State and Nebraska. There wasn't much red seen in the downtown streets before or after the vigil, but one Husker fan said the game may be just the tonic needed to help both the community and football program.
Nate Wood is a secondary education English teacher from New Jersey who graduated from Nebraska in 2002. Wood was one of the few sporting Husker gear as he dined with a group of friends before the vigil.
"I think the football game is what this team needs now," Wood said. "The sooner they get back to football, the better this place will be."
Wood wasn't concerned about taking any guff from Penn State fans because of what he chose to wear. He said Nittany Lions supporters know there's more to be concerned with than what opposing fans are wearing.
"Not at all," Wood said. "I've been here before and I know the type of people who are here. I don't expect any problems."
There were plenty of things for people to do in and around the campus before the evening activities. Both Penn State and Nebraska supporters stood across the street from Joe Paterno's house Friday afternoon, along with local and national television crews.
Motorists were advised by a sign about two blocks from Paterno's home on North McKee St. that only local traffic should enter, but that didn't stop people from driving by or parking at Sunset Park next to the house to take in the scene.
An ESPN reporter was doing a live interview with Paterno's home in the background. Before that interview began, Paterno's wife Sue came to the door twice to receive gifts, including cards, flowers and even a plate of cookies, from students and other well-wishers.
On her second visit to the door, Mrs. Paterno was greeted with cheers of "We love you" from Nittany Lions fans while others took photographs.
Neighbors also were making sure that people stayed off their lawns, but one lady was giving Husker fans information on the nearest malls and other places to shop.
Both fans and media also spent part of the afternoon at Beaver Stadium. Nebraska's equipment truck rolled in about 2:15 p.m., the stadium's souvenir shop was open for business and Paternoville, the area where students gather to gain the earliest entry to the stadium, was packed with tents and shivering students discussing the events of the week.
A group of four students couldn't understand why Nebraska fans were so concerned about potential safety issues on Saturday. They, like university officials earlier in the day, said the anger of Nittany Lions fans is aimed directly at those who have tarnished the image of the program.
Plenty of fans from both teams also took time to pose with the bigger-than-life-sized statue of Paterno on the east side of the stadium. One group of Big Red fans even put a Husker flag in Paterno's hand before having their pictures taken.
—This report contains information from The Associated Press
LIVE CHAT
Join us for a live, pregame chat at 9 a.m. with staff writer Rich Kaipust. Then stick around and chat with other fans during the game. Rich will be back to answer your questions about 45 minutes after the game is over. Also, chime in during the game using the #NUvsPSU hashtag on Twitter!
VIDEO:
• Video: Emotions run high at Penn State-Nebraska game:
• Video: The JoePa statue attracts big attention:
• Video: Watch what Nebraska fans in State College, Pa., are saying about the atmosphere:
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