The Penn State football team takes on Nebraska tomorrow night in one of the most anticipated games of the season.

For students, the night game might mean sleeping in on Saturday morning or more tailgating time, but local businesses are having mixed reactions to the later kickoff time.

When there is a day game, businesses usually receive a wave of customers on the day preceding and immediately following the game. However, since kickoff is 8 p.m. tomorrow, the usual dining and shopping times of visitors will be thrown off.

The Student Book Store (SBS), 330 E. College Ave., is taking advantage of the fact that a later game means more shopping time during the day.

Norm Brown, SBS manager, said the store's owners like when the games are at 3:30 or 8 p.m. because those starting times bring in the most customers.

Business is more unpredictable for earlier games, he said. People go directly to the game when it's in the morning and might come down to the store afterwards or some just go home, Brown said.

David Wells, director of operations for Dante's Inc., said the night game might have a negative effect on the restaurant business.

He expects a strong and extended crowd for lunch, but by 6 p.m., he said, a lot of people will start to leave for Beaver Stadium.

"We'll obviously have less dinner customers," Wells said. "The ideal game is one that is at 1:30 or 3 p.m."

Business at The Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave., and The Saloon, 101 Hiester St., will also be affected, he said. Since the game probably will not end until after 11 p.m., Wells doesn't think there will be a crowd for happy hour, which begins at 9:30 p.m.

In contrast, Pat Daugherty, owner of The Tavern Restaurant, 220. E. College Ave., is optimistic about business this weekend.

"I think we're pretty happy it's an 8 o'clock game," he said.

Tomorrow, The Tavern will open at noon instead of the usual 3 p.m. to accommodate earlier dining. Daugherty said he did the same thing last year for the night game against Miami and the restaurant did the usual amount of business for a football weekend.

"And that was the opening game so it was harder to get the word out," Daugherty said.

Because there has already been a home game this year, it was easier for The Tavern to advertise, he said.

"We have a lot of regular football customers ... they come from all over," Daugherty said.

Daugherty said he's excited because the last time Nebraska played at Penn State in 1983, the president and athletic director of the University of Nebraska ate at the restaurant.

To attract football customers, SBS and Crowbar will have promotions tomorrow.

"We come up with some promotion for what we consider big games," Brown said.

This weekend, those promotions include a corn-husking contest for free T-shirts and a live radio broadcast from the SBS.

The SBS will run a shuttle bus from the store to Beaver Stadium starting at 5 p.m. tomorrow, instead of two hours before the game as they usually do.

Crowbar has booked Green Eggs and Spam and is planning a post-game party. Velveeta will perform at The Saloon.

The late game may cause bar-goers to arrive late tomorrow night, but Wells is optimistic.

"Hopefully, we'll be beating Nebraska so bad that people will leave the game early," he said.