They know it's coming.
The Penn State football team knows Nebraska will run the option. There is no mystery. It didn't take hours of film-watching to figure this out.
The Nittany Lions know the traditional formula on how to stop this, and the Cornhuskers know they do. But doing it with X's and O's doesn't mean the Lions can do it with actual players.
As evidenced by their 33 straight seasons of nine wins or more, knowing how to stop the Nebraska option doesn't make it easier to do, especially with the 'Huskers' talent level.
The Lions have made the necessary adjustments to their defense to prepare for it, spending their bye-week learning assignments and disciplining themselves to staying on them.
"You have a couple guys assigned to the quarterback, a couple guys assigned to pitch," free safety Shawn Mayer said. "In different defenses, you have different responsibilities, because it's not good to show the same basic defense all the time.
"If you're on pitch and the quarterback turns it up, you can't just say, 'Let's go make a tackle on the quarterback,' because then he'll flip it out to the pitch and the running back's going down the sideline."
The Lions already understood these concepts after playing Indiana last season and dealing with its talented quarterback, Antwaan Randle El. The Lions allowed the Hoosiers to roll up 298 yards on the ground but won the game, 28-14.
There are several differences, however. Though 'Husker quarterback Jammal Lord isn't quite the athlete Randle El was, Nebraska runs the option more, and the No. 8 'Huskers have more talent around Lord than the Hoosiers, who finished 5-6 last season, did around Randle El. I-back Dahrran Diedrick rushed for 1,299 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, and the 'Huskers also have a strong offensive line and a solid group of wide receivers.
"I see a lot of similarities, except that this kid has a much stronger supporting cast," Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said. "They do different things. It certainly doesn't hurt. How much it helps, I really don't know. A lot of kids who are going to play didn't play against Randle El."
Among those who have is defensive end Michael Haynes, who as a perimeter defensive player becomes very important in disrupting the flow of the option. However, on the other side of the line, redshirt sophomore John Bronson is getting his first experience against an option offense.
"The end spot becomes really important because a lot of times Nebraska is reading us," Haynes said. "If we force the quarterback to pitch, it becomes a regular toss. And we have enough speed laterally to be able to play that."
To get to their assignments, the Lions will be facing a Nebraska offensive line that is huge but unproven, with just two starters. Though they haven't shown whether they can be as dominant as some of the great offensive lines in Cornhusker history, all of the starters weigh in at 290 pounds or more. Senior tight end Aaron Golliday is also 290 pounds.
Their strong offensive line has traditionally given the 'Huskers the ability to dominate on the ground by doing more than just the option, and the Lions will have to be prepared for this as well. If they try to anticipate the option too much, they will get beat up the middle, and occasionally, on the pass.
"They're not just an option team," Paterno said. "You've got to stop the option, but they've always been a power football team. They're an 'iso' team with a good fullback blocking. They're a power sweep team, they're a good fullback belly team. They trap well. They do a lot of different things and they mix up formations.
"We have to change up some things and be ready for the option. We have to be ready for two tight ends and four wideouts. They do all of that. It is going to be interesting whether we can do anything to slow them down."
