Nebraska Football: 3 takeaways from big win over Penn State

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EVANSTON, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 07: Peyton Ramsey #12 of the Northwestern Wildcats breaks away from Garrett Nelson #44 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Ryan Field on November 07, 2020 in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern defeated Nebraska 21-13. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

2. Defense didn’t play a complete game

Although Nebraska held Penn State to just six points in the first half, the Cornhuskers nearly blew it in the second half, surrendering 17 points while scoring just three.

It was a tale of two halves for the defense.

In the first, the defense added seven points on a scoop-and-score to extend that big lead and it looked like that side of the ball was going to be a bright spot, especially with a young quarterback getting action with Sean Clifford benched.

Clifford struggled against the Nebraska defense but Will Levis had better luck.

In the second half, Penn State stormed back to make it a one-touchdown game with a chance to tie it up in the final minute but the defense stepped up when it needed to and got after Levis, forcing him into an incompletion on fourth-and-goal.

Still, the defense gave up over 500 yards on the day.

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