The Nebraska football game against Penn State isn't about getting to a bowl. It's not about keeping the Huskers' playoff hopes alive. But that doesn't make Saturday night's game any less critical for Matt Rhule and his crew.
NU enters the game against the Nittany Lions as a rather surprising underdog, considering the Huskers are 7-3 and Penn State is 4-6 and playing without a full-time head coach. Rhule and his team want to show that they've really taken a step forward. Beating PSU in Happy Valley would go a long way towards accomplishing that.
There's also the fact that Rhule is meeting up with Penn State for the first time as Nebraska football head coach.