LINCOLN, Neb. -- Penn State offensive tackle Damone Jones has mentioned several times that an offensive line's job is to blow people off the ball.
Therefore, they should be able to telegraph every play to the other team and still be able to gain yardage.
Nebraska's offensive line proved Jones right Saturday, as they managed to roll over the Penn State defense without much variety in their play calling.
No. 15 Nebraska (3-0) ran the ball on 72 of the 78 plays it called. In the second half, the only pass the Cornhuskers threw --- a 12-yarder from Jammal Lord to tight end Matt Herian -- came on the final snap of the third quarter.
Nebraska used its potent running attack to wear down the Nittany Lions (1-2) and avenge last season's blowout loss with an 18-10 win on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium in front of 78,008 screaming Nebraska fans. A Lions defense that was allowing an average of 200 rushing yards per game yielded 337 to Nebraska. The Cornhuskers finished with 397 total yards and almost doubled Penn State's time of possession.
"It felt like every other game so far," Nebraska I-back Josh Davis said. "We pounded them. In the second half, they got tired and we took advantage."
The Cornhuskers made a statement on their first drive of the second half, when they were trailing 10-9. They marched 80 yards on 16 plays, all of which were runs. Lord capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown to put Nebraska ahead 15-10.
On that drive Davis, who finished the game with 179 yards on 32 carries, was handed the ball on seven straight plays and picked up three first downs.
Penn State had no answer for it.
"We were running the ball well enough," said Nebraska coach Frank Solich. "We were in second-and-five or second-and-six and were able to get enough first downs from just running the ball."
Even with all the statistical advantages the Cornhuskers possessed, Penn State had a chance to tie the game late in the second half.
In the closing minutes, Zack Mills hit Gerald Smith down the sideline for 31 yards to put the Lions on the Nebraska 39-yard line. The Lions would not get any closer as the Nebraska's defense stopped the threat, securing the victory.
"We just go out there and do our job," said Nebraska cornerback Fabian Washington, who intercepted a Mills pass in the first half. "We just have to stop them every time from scoring."
The Cornhuskers made it into Penn State territory on nine of their 11 drives, and made it into the red zone on six of them, but had to settle for field goals by true freshman kicker David Dyches four times. Penn State hero Yaacov Yisrael intercepted a pass from Jammal Lord in the first half to keep the Cornhuskers from scoring on one of those other drives, and defensive tackle Scott Paxson partially blocked a field goal to keep another long drive from producing points.
The Lions, on the other hand, were held in check the entire game, except for a few plays. For the third straight week, the offense couldn't muster a drive in the early going. Penn State had 20 yards of offense in the first half and finished the game with 203 yards.
The Lions' only touchdown was set up by the defense when tackle Ed Johnson forced Lord to fumble at the Nebraska 29-yard line. Lions tailback Ricky Upton took the ball 13 yards around the left end for the touchdown in his only carry of the game.
Penn State's other scoring drive came as the first half ended. Penn State's offensive line gave Mills time to throw, and he completed 4-of-5 passes on the drive to set up a 47-yard Robbie Gould field goal.
"We played them last year and they didn't play well," said Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. "When I looked at them later on in the year, they started to play much better. I think they played, obviously, much better."
