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‘The state needed it’: Smooth sailing turned to survival mode, but Huskers hang on to beat Penn State | Football



“The state needed it, the team needed it and I needed it,” Frost said after the game. “We talked at halftime and I talked to them frankly about how we’ve been in that situation before. …

“You need to learn how to win, and I think winning will help the kids know they can win and find ways to win going forward.”

Smooth sailing in the first half turned into second-half survival mode quickly for Nebraska after it opened up a 27-6 halftime lead.

The Nittany Lions trimmed that margin by 10 heading into the fourth quarter, then used a quick-strike 74-yard completion to standout tight end Pat Freiermuth to set up a score with 9 minutes, 20 seconds remaining that closed the gap further, to 30-23.

At that point, Frost said he was having flashbacks to a dominant first half that turned into a loss last September at Colorado in part because of a 96-yard flea-flicker for a touchdown.

The drama had just begun for the Blackshirts, who got the two big plays in the first half but ultimately — in part because of the forced turnovers — had to defend 91 plays and surrendered 501 yards against a PSU offense that possessed the ball for more than 36 minutes.

Two times, Penn State had a chance to tie the game.

The defense held once, taxed as it was, thanks to passes defended by Deontai Williams, then Dicaprio Bootle, then finally Marquel Dismuke on fourth-and-10. That gave Nebraska the ball back with 3:37 to go.



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