One of the most important players for Penn State this weekend is a freshman from New Britain, Conn., who will not touch the field.

Maurice Humphrey played the role of Nebraska quarterback Jammal Lord in practice and gave the defense a sense of what it's like to stop a big, quick player.

Lord is not the only player Penn State (1-0) will have to stop to beat No. 7 Nebraska (3-0) at 8 p.m. in Beaver Stadium tomorrow, but it's a start. Many Nittany Lions are hoping a win over the Cornhuskers is the start of a climb back to respectability. "I haven't seen [Penn State football coach Joe Paterno] this excited in two years," defensive tackle Anthony Adams said.

Lord is Nebraska's leading rusher with 254 yards and three touchdowns. The Brooklyn native has never really thrown the ball, passing for just 360 yards his senior year in high school. This season, he has completed 19 of 40 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns.

So far, playing against very raw competition, Lord has been much more of a running threat.

Enter Humphrey.

"He plays DB [defensive back], but I don't know," Adams said. "With the looks he's giving us now I don't know what Joe's going to do with him."

Having a two-week layover gave the Lions one main advantage: plenty of time to prepare. With a team like Nebraska, though, that doesn't necessarily mean breaking down complicated offensive schemes. With the Cornhuskers, like the Lions of old, you know what's coming.

"We know we have to stop the option first," defensive end Michael Haynes said. "It's their bread and butter. If we can force them to pass, we can definitely win this game."

Humphrey is an inch shorter than Lord and weighs about 20 pounds less, but his main job was to imitate Lord's dart-and-juke running style, especially on option plays to the outside.

"He's doing a very good job juking and shaking and running around like a nut," free safety Shawn Mayer said. "He's really quick and he makes us miss. We're getting a good look from him in the position."

Paterno admits that Lord is dangerous, but also says he is not the Cornhuskers' only weapon.

"Obviously, the quarterback can beat you almost by himself if you get careless with him," Paterno said. "He is a very, very talented runner, but they still have the big-time tailback; big, strong running backs and great wide receivers."

That big-time tailback is Dahrran Diedrick, who is averaging just 78 rushing yards a game -- down from 120 a year ago.

The Lions are young and inexperienced at the outside defensive positions. LaMar Stewart is a sophomore making his second start at one outside linebacker spot, and Derek Wake, who missed all of last season, is at the other. Haynes should fare well at right end, but left end John Bronson is unproven.

"Basically, it's my job to keep my feet in cement and make [Lord] pitch the ball," Haynes said.

The carelessness that Paterno spoke of regarding Lord is defensive players straying out of their lanes, trying to make big plays.

"The toughest thing is just trying to stay in your lane so he doesn't get out of the pocket," Adams said. "Everybody just has to stay home and do their job."

Despite the mixed and shadowed messages coming out of the Lions' locker room, many in the program see this as a statement game.

"People are starting to get a sense that we can turn it around," quarterback Zack Mills said. "We've had our two years of struggle."

Those struggles included the first consecutive losing seasons since the Great Depression and a 3-8 record against ranked teams.

"Beating a team like Nebraska would put us back on top again," tailback Larry Johnson said, "and that's all we're worried about."