There was a time when Nebraska vs Penn State might have been the "Matt Rhule bowl" with the winner staking its claim on the Huskers' head coach. While that's no longer an issue, what is a bit surprising about Saturday night's tilt is that NU enters Happy Valley as a major underdog, despite the Nittany Lions sitting at 4-6 on the season while the Cornhuskers are 7-3.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Penn State opens the week as 10.5-point favorites. That's the most they've been favored by since the firing of James Franklin. They were only 7-point favorites over Michigan State, a team that is now 3-7 and winless in the Big Ten.
Obviously, some of the reasons Nebraska is such a heavy underdog are that this game is in State College, rather than East Lansing. It's also the Nittany Lions' Senior Night, and emotions will be high. But still, that big a spread, when the Huskers have had two weeks to prepare, is surprising to say the least.
Nebraska has its biggest underdog line of the season against Penn State
Granted, the last time NU was coming off a bye against a Big Ten team, they played their worst game of the season against Minnesota. Maybe that plays a part. Maybe Vegas hasn't quite bought into freshman quarterback TJ Lateef after a near-perfect outing against an admittedly terrible UCLA defense.
There are some out there, some who are even Nebraska fans, who aren't convinced Matt Rhule has this squad playing as well as it should. They have a point, considering the Huskers took a 28-7 lead over UCLA and then allowed the Bruins to get right back into it, holding them off 28-21.
There's the Minnesota loss, too. There are fewer than impressive wins over that same Michigan State team, as well as Maryland. Whatever the reason, Matt Rhule and his squad haven't been this big a dog all season long.
Hopefully, Nebraska can take that spread and use it as motivation. They're not getting much in the way of respect. It's hard to say a win over a 4-6 team is a "prove it" moment, but Saturday night's contest looks to be precisely that.