Come hell or high water, Nebraska had plans to get the ball in sophomore Wan’Dale Robinson’s hands Saturday against Penn State.
Coach Scott Frost, though, likely didn’t know at the outset just how much work the Frankfort, Kentucky, native was in for.Â
Senior running back Dedrick Mills suffered an injury early on — it’s not serious, and Frost said Mills will be fine — but as a three-score lead turned into a competitive game, Robinson again showed why he’s one of NU’s most important players.
He carried the ball 16 times — including 12 in the second half — for 60 yards and became Nebraska’s primary running back as the game went along.
His total tallies: 60 rushing yards plus five catches for 11 yards. Not eye-popping numbers, by any stretch, but steady, dependable ones.
"Wan’Dale can do about anything we ask him to do on the field,†Frost said. “We try to get him a couple quick screens and shovel pass and trying to find ways to get him the ball.â€
He picked up half of Nebraska’s six second-half first downs on the ground while playing running back extensively for the first time this year.
“I played running back basically my whole life, so being back in the backfield is really natural,†Robinson said. “Being at receiver is natural, too. I feel really comfortable at both spots.â€
Hello, Zavier Betts: Nebraska already had a 10-3 lead when Betts made the biggest play of his freshman season so far.
The Bellevue West graduate and former four-star recruit took a fly sweep and glided around the right end, cut up the field and raced 45 yards for a touchdown.
“Zavier has a chance to be a really good football player here,†Frost said. “Since he got here, he's become more and more committed to trying to be really good. If he commits himself to this and knows what he's doing all the time and does things the right way, he's going to find his way on the field and he's got a chance to be a special player for us.â€
Betts added another catch later in the game, and now in two appearances has four catches for 71 yards.
QB run gives NU fits: Penn State’s best run game this season so far had been from its quarterbacks, and that was the case again Saturday.
Junior Sean Clifford ran six times for 18 yards early on before he was benched and backup Will Levis, who was mostly a running option in relief up to this point in his career, had more success.
Levis, listed at 6-foot-3 and 222 pounds, ran it 18 times for 61 yards.
“Anytime anybody is running quarterback run, they have an extra blocker in the box so it’s just the most difficult thing in general,†Nebraska defensive lineman Ben Stille said. “Plus (Levis) was a tough, physical downhill quarterback. He was a big kid. So between having an extra blocker in the box and him getting downhill, it was giving us some fits there.â€
In all, Penn State ran for 245 yards and 4.7 yards per attempt.
Slowing Dotson: Nittany Lions receiver Jahan Dotson came in as one of the offensive bright spots for James Franklin’s team, but he had just two catches for 27 yards on seven targets.
“We just really focused on him during the week,†junior cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt said. “We had some young guys imitate the things that he does at receiver just so we could get used to it. We felt like, when he slows down, just go ahead and get on him right now because he has that speed to stack and get on top of you and make those big plays.â€
Taylor-Britt gave particular credit to redshirt freshman Demariyon Houston’s scout-team work.
“He’s a fast guy, track guy, and that makes us better with him running full speed,†he said.
Chinander in the box: One major change Nebraska has made this season: Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander is calling games from the box instead of the sideline. His players think it’s making a difference.
“I think the purpose of that is just so he can focus strictly on calls and get (the calls) into us fast so he can see everything,†senior JoJo Domann said. “He’s got the aerial view on that. And it’s given an opportunity for the other coaches and us players to really just feed off each other. The position coaches are picking it up and they’re getting in our ears. … It’s really opened up an opportunity to connect with our other coaches and really just do what they have to say.â€
Domann had high praise for what Chinander has meant to NU overall, too.
“He is the heart and soul of this defense,†Domann said. “When he’s on and we’re able to truly buy into what he’s saying and what he’s trying to get across, good things are going to happen.â€
Shifting game plan: Frost said after the game that he thought perhaps he got too conservative in the second half, particularly in the red zone. However, he said the game plan changed some after NU jumped out to a three-score lead.
“We threw two interceptions in the red zone a week ago, and I kind of challenged the guys to commit to running the ball in when we got it down there,†Frost said. “But certainly the one (fourth-quarter field goal) we kicked, we came up a yard short and had a fourth-and-1. If we had put that in the end zone, I wouldn't have had to lose a year of my life at the end of that game. I thought we did a good job design in one pass play (in the first half) and had a guy open in the back of the end zone in the first half and just didn't catch it.
“But then we got ahead and, to be honest with you, the last thing I wanted to do is give up points and do anything to take a chance with the ball. So our game plan kind of shifted from really being aggressive and taking shots to trying to manage the game and make sure we didn't give one away."
Returns and absences: Sophomore center Cameron Jurgens and senior tight end Jack Stoll both returned from injuries Saturday.
Jurgens played the whole way after missing the trip to Northwestern and Stoll saw limited time while sporting a brace on his left knee.
Stoll took a nasty shot against Ohio State and missed the rest of that game plus last week.
Redshirt freshman running back Ronald Thompkins also was back this week after missing practice time and, subsequently, the game against Northwestern.
Junior wide receiver Omar Manning was not among the 90 players in uniform for the Huskers against Penn State. He tweeted early on during the game cheering his teammates on, but was not on the sideline.
Also, Iowa transfer and walk-on wide receiver Oliver Martin was in uniform for the first time as a Husker, but did not appear. He apparently is eligible to play this season after there was some question in recent weeks about whether he’d have to sit out the season because of his transfer.
Photos: Huskers outlast Penn State in home opener at Memorial Stadium
Nebraska wide receiver Zavier Betts (left) runs away from Penn State's Jayson Oweh en route to a 45-yard touchdown in the second quarter last November at Memorial Stadium.