The Sod Couple Rivalry #56

First, a review of the Penn State game.

Relax. Take a deep breath. Everything is going to be okay. Nebraska lost to a much better team Saturday night at Happy Valley. If anyone thought NU was going to leaveHappy Valley with a win, he could use a big dose of reality.

Two weeks ago, #2 ranked Indiana escaped Happy Valley with a 27-24 win. And in late September, powerhouse Oregan survived at Penn State with a 30-24 OT win . Penn State's schedule this fall included Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana. (Next season, those three teams are on NU's schedule.)

But Danny Boy, Nebraska still lost to a 4-6 opponent who, prior to Saturday, only had a win against Michigan State in B1G conference play.

Right.

For whatever reason, the Nittany Lions stumbled early in the season. Then their head coach was fired and they lost their starting QB for the year due to injury.

Unfortunately for the Huskers, in mid-season the Lions regained their early season mojo. Credit Penn State's interim head coach Terry Smith for doing a marvelous job of getting the Lions back on track. Thanks to his leadership, PSU (5-6) is just one win away from bowl eligibility.

Most sports pundits had Nebraska in their preseason polls as winning 7 or maybe 8 games in the regular season At 7-4, NU seems to be right on track.

The Sod Couple episode #56
Note: The Sod Couple reference is that Iowa and Nebraska share similar characteristics: Neither state has mountains or an ocean. Both do have boatloads of corn and crappy weather.

Series History
Nebraska and Iowa played for the first time on Thanksgiving on November 26, 1891. The Hawkeyes beat NU 22-0. Although Nebraska lost that day, NU leads the series 30-22-3. That sounds good, But NU hasn't had much success lately, losing 9 of the last 10 games to Iowa.

During 9 of those games, Iowa outplayed and out coached the Huskers, The Hawkeyes combine stifling defenses with excellent special teams play. Most importantly, Iowa doesn't make mistakes. Rather they lie in the bushes waiting for teams to self-destruct. Iowa often doesn't look pretty, but they're like a boa constrictor squeezing the life out of their opponents.

Iowa ranks #122 in total offense but #8 in total defense. NU is #75 and #20 respectively Iowa averages 27.9 ppg scoring while giving up an average of only 15.1 ppg. The Husker averages are 30.5 and 21.5 respectively.

Worth noting: This season, Iowa lost to #2 Indiana 20-15, lost to #5 Oregon 18-16 and lost at USC 21-16. Iowa also beat Penn State 25-24 at Iowa City. In short, Friday's edition of the Sod Brothers rivalry doesn't bode well for the Scarlet and Cream on Black Friday,

One bit of advice to the Huskers: DO NOT KICK TO #21 Who's number 21?
Kaden Wetjen. He already has a total of 894 return yards and 4 return TDs. He also is the winner the Jet Award last year for being the best return specialist in college football.