While the Nebraska football team was busy entering the game against Penn State with the wrong mindset, Terry Smith and his Nittany Lions wanted to write a script. It turns out they were quite the authors.
Smith talked about the approach he wanted his team to take on Senior Night. They ended up playing even better than anyone expected, especially for a team that was 4-6 coming into Saturday's game. When the smoke cleared, the Nittany Lions were 37-10 victors.
"We wanted to write a script ..." Smith said after his team trounced Nebraska and kept their bowl hopes alive. "So I challenged our seniors. 'We're in control of this. Write your script for how you want these last few games to be.' What a performance they wrote tonight."
Penn State’s plan vs. Nebraska’s mindset: a tale of two teams
It was a script that saw the Huskers look like they were going to give Penn State a fight. They drove down the field on the first drive and got all the way to the two-yard line. However, just what kind of game it was going to be became obvious quickly. NU failed to convert on 4th and inches, PSU drove 98 yards for a 7-0 score, and the rout was on.
Terry Smith's script would end with him being promoted from interim to full-time head coach. There were plenty of fans in the stadium on Saturday night who seemed open to that.
Nebraska will look to put together a better script of its own when they face off against Iowa on Black Friday. A win and the Huskers will still be in line to win 9 games in 2025. A significant improvement over Matt Rhule's second season.