We all know by now that one heck of a storm has been brewing in State College — the site of this Saturday’s Nebraska game.

But what waits for the Huskers in Happy Valley? Will Penn State’s players, fueled by a love for Joe Pa come out swinging? Or will they be on their heels, like the University administrators and coaching staff have been all week?

According to USA Today, Joe Pa (who will retire at the season’s end has been ousted effective immediately) said he is devastated by the Sandusky sex scandal. He said it was one of the great sorrows of his life. He said he wishes he had done more.

As if the emotional buttons needed to be pushed any harder, it’s also Senior Day at Penn State this Saturday.

With no scandal on the books, this trip to College Station would have been tough for Nebraska. Given how important it is for Penn State to right its ship on the field of play — an area where they have some degree of control — I believe what was going to be a tough game to win, is now several degrees tougher.

Where are you on this game? Will the Huskers prevail in a tightly fought contest? Or will Penn State’s players deliver a big big win for their coach and their program in a time of need?

Sam McKewon of the Omaha World Herald argues, and rightly so, that the Nebraska’s next three games are the toughest test of the Bo Pelini era.

There’s no question. At Penn State, at Michigan and at home against our new rival, Iowa. It could be a glorious run or a devastating finish to another disappointing season.

So, where is the head coach on this? Is he breathing fire or channeling his inner Phil Jackson?

This slice of McKewon’s article gives us a sense, I think:

Pelini didn’t say as much in his Monday presser.

“Every week and every day is a measuring stick,” he said.

He won’t and shouldn’t elaborate, not when Northwestern can play with more fire and focus than his guys did on Saturday. But the big picture of Pelini’s tenure clarifies soon.

“I’m not always a results-oriented guy,” Pelini said. “A lot of people are, and I think there is a lot of other things that go into it. You have to do the best you can and keep getting better and that’s what I see. Who is to say what will happen as this season ends?”

I’m bewildered by this. “Who is to say what will happen as this season ends?” What does that mean?

And what is this about not focusing on results?

Northwestern came to Lincoln to win. Their determination and their ability was front and center from the first snap, and it never waned. Much to our chagrin…

Tom Shatel sums it up:

Call it the annual gag. Or the yearly hiccup. But until Nebraska learns to avoid this sort of glitch, there won’t be any BCS bowls or conference championships in Bo Pelini’s program.

Shatel also says there’s still a chance for 10-2, “but if NU is sitting home watching the Big Ten title game, it will seem like an empty 10-2.”

10-2 sounds awfully generous for a team that was dismantled by Northwestern yesterday and about to face Penn State, Michigan and Iowa. 8-4 is more likely, and to get to 8-4 we need to beat Penn State, Michigan or Iowa. Otherwise, Nebraska finishes 7-5.

I know many Husker fans were surprised by what transpired yesterday. I was surprised last Saturday. That’s the day this Nebraska team played an “out of character” game. Sadly, our weaknesses on D have been evident all year, even in September when Fresno State and Washington moved the ball on us with ease.

Finishing at 9-3 is the other option, and 9-3 would be a great finish for this team, but not for Nebraska football fans. We banished one of our own after he went 9-3 — and now he coaches in the MAC.

I wonder how long “The People of the Corn” will put up with a coach who doesn’t win championships?

Maybe there’s a bit too much Youngstown up in this house. It can’t be easy to have your brother in the line of fire, but right now that’s precisely where both Pelini brothers find themselves. Yes, a good percentage of fans are Pelini supporters. I like them myself, but this is Nebraska and you win at Nebraska or you make room for people who do.

Will Bo or his brother be sent packing after this season? Unlikely, but let’s see how the ball bounces. At 7-5, all bets are off.

After a tremendous effort from the defense last Saturday, Bo Pelini handed out 19 Blackshirts to his core defensive unit this week. It was a way to say “Job well done” while reminding the players of the four regular season “tasks” left undone.

Since 1964, when the Blackshirt tradition was first introduced, few programs in America have played defense like Nebraska. According to Omaha World Herald, in 23 of the 47 seasons, the Huskers have finished top 10 nationally in scoring defense.

But this season the Blackshirts are giving up 22.5 points per game through last Saturday, and are currently ranked 33rd in the nation in scoring defense. Although that’s going to improve, provided we continue to play like we did against Sparty. Thankfully, there’s ample reason to believe we will do just that when Northwestern takes the field at Memorial Stadium tomorrow.

But let’s not get too comfortable or too far ahead of ourselves. Bo Pelini expects “a heck of a football game” from the Wildcats. He also says, “We have a lot of respect for the football team coming in here to play us.”

We invited a friend who is a Michigan State graduate into our home yesterday for the game. I tried to keep the gloating to a minimum and to appear to be shocked by Sparty’s inability to move the ball. (Of course, I had no reason to feel overly confident as this was the first time all year the Blackshirts came to play.)

As Bo Pelini said, it was the team’s “most complete game” of the year.

I like how Will Compton sums it all up in this recap video from KLKN: “We’ve got to win out.”

It’s that kind of intense focus on the mission that wins championships. Go Big Red.

Brian Christopherson of Lincoln Journal Star says tomorrow’s game against Sparty is “man’s work.”

I couldn’t agree more. We’re gonna have to man up and keep Jerel Worthy and company out of our backfield.

Michigan State’s defensive line is a menacing bunch…the Spartans are ranked eighth in the country in run defense, giving up 89 yards a game. On the other side of the fence, Nebraska is ninth in the country in run offense, averaging 261 a game. Strength on strength. Man’s work here. Whichever side wins this scrum is probably singing the victory chorus after this game.

Christopherson is also looking for Nebraska’s defensive line to play its best game of the season.

“Cameron Meredith, Baker Steinkuhler, Chase Rome, Terrence Moore, Jason Ankrah. They’re going to have be disrupters.”

Nebraska won big today in a road game against a seriously out-manned opponent.

I’m happy that there was never a question about who was in control of this one–it reminded me of how things used to be when we rolled in to Lawrence, Ames and other college towns. Over before it ever started.

There were also some outstanding plays in this game…

Nebraska’s Kenny Bell, scampered for a 82-yard touchdown run on a reverse early in the second quarter to put the Huskers up 17-0.

Brandon Kinnie hauled in a career-long 61-yard reception midway through the second quarter to set up Nebraska’s fourth offensive score of the day.

Senior safety Austin Cassidy provided Nebraska’s scooped up a second-quarter fumble by Minnesota quarterback MarQuies Gray and plunged into the end zone for his second career touchdown.

Yet, it wasn’t all good. The Golden Gophers managed to outscore the Huskers 14-7 in the second half. We can pretend it doesn’t matter, but when there’s a BCS computer tallying every move the team makes, it does matter.

Tad Stryker says, “The Cornhusker defense played very gingerly at times. There is almost no reckless abandon among Carl Pelini’s charges – no jumped pass routes, only one takeaway, even against one of the nation’s worst offenses. There is no hint yet of a killer instinct.”

Be that as it may, the team is highly ranked and headed for glory or something less than that. With Michigan State coming to town next Saturday, we will need that absent killer instinct and much more to notch a “W”.

When Ohio State was pummeling Nebraska on prime time TV, some boos reigned down on the field. It was hard for me to see, because the camera cut away, but it appeared that Bo Pelini made a gesture to the crowd to express his displeasure. No, he didn’t give fans the finger, but he waved them off, as if their concerns did not matter. And support him or not, that’s a problem.

According to the Omaha World Herald, Pelini believes Memorial Stadium is no places for boos.

We have loyal, passionate fans that have invested a lot in this program. I have great respect for this fan base, the support they give, how they travel, all the things that they do. … I know they want to win badly, but I’ve just got to remind them all that we want to win just as bad. Bottom line is, I just simply don’t believe that there’s any place for booing in a college stadium. Some fans may disagree with that, but that’s something I feel strongly about.

I’m a fan who disagrees with that. How would the coach like us to voice our displeasure? Perhaps in an email?

If it was Tom Osborne saying he didn’t think there was a place for booing, I would also disagree but at least it would be consistent with who the man is. Pelini is a hot head, and the fact that he is leaves him zero room to effectively state his concerns on this matter. In other words, the guy who yells and loses his cool, has no ground to stand on here.