Huskers Face Spartans in Primetime Showdown

GAME 6: NEBRASKA at MICHIGAN STATE
OCT. 4, 2014 | SPARTAN STADIUM
EAST LANSING, MICH. | 7 p.m. (CT)

BROADCAST INFO
TV - ABC
RADIO - Husker Sports Network
SATELLITE RADIO - Sirius Channel 91, XM 91
INTERNET RADIO - Huskers.com

HUSKERS
Record: 5-0, 0-0
Rankings: Coaches-17; AP-21
Last Game: def. Illinois, 45-14
Coach: Bo Pelini
Career/NU Record: 63-24/7th year 
vs. Michigan St.: 3-1

SPARTANS
Record: 3-1, 0-0
Rankings: Coaches-10; AP-10
Last Game: def. Wyoming, 56-14
Coach: Mark Dantonio
Career/MSU Record: 85-47, 11th Season/ 67-30, 8th Season
vs. NU: 1-2

The Matchup
Nebraska takes to the road for the first time in Big Ten Conference play, traveling to East Lansing, Mich., to battle defending Big Ten champion Michigan State on Saturday. The game will be televised nationally on ABC, with kickoff set for shortly after 8 p.m. ET in East Lansing.

The Huskers enter the Big Ten showdown with a 5-0 record, following a 45-14 victory over Illinois in the conference opener on Saturday night. Nebraska’s 5-0 start is its first since 2010, and the Huskers will be looking to advance to 6-0 for the first time since 2001.

The Huskers once again relied on a powerful rushing attack, rolling up 458 yards on the ground against the Illini. Nebraska brings one of the nation’s most explosive offenses into the contest, averaging 354.8 rushing yards per game, 572.6 total yards and 45.4 points per game, all figures that rank in the top 10 in the nation. The victory helped Nebraska move up two spots to No. 19 in the Associated Press poll, while the Huskers are 17th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Michigan State will mark the Huskers’ first ranked opponent of the 2014 season. With a 3-1 mark on the season, MSU is ranked 10th in both major national polls this week. The Spartans suffered their only loss of the season on Sept. 6 at second-ranked Oregon, in a game MSU led midway through the third quarter. MSU has dominated its other three opponents, including a 56-14 win over Wyoming on Saturday.

The Spartans have won 10 straight games against Big Ten opponents dating back to 2012, including all eight regular-season games in 2013, as well as the Big Ten title game against Ohio State.

The Series
Nebraska holds a 7-1 edge in the all-time series between the schools, including wins in both meetings in East Lansing, most recently a 28-24 win in 2012. Michigan State won for the first time in the series with a victory at Memorial Stadium last season.

The Coaches
Nebraska: Bo Pelini (Ohio State, ‘90) owns a 63-24 record (.724) in his seventh season as head coach. He has guided NU to nine or more wins in each of his first six seasons as head coach, joining Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne in accomplishing that feat at Nebraska. His 63 wins trail only Osborne and Devaney on the NU wins list. Pelini joins Alabama’s Nick Saban as the only head coaches in the nation to win nine or more games each of the past six seasons.

Michigan State: Mark Dantonio (South Carolina, ‘79) is in his eighth season as Michigan State’s head coach and owns a 67-30 record with the Spartans and an 85-47 record overall as a college head coach. Dantonio has guided MSU to a pair of appearances in the Big Ten Championship Game, including a conference title in 2013. The Spartans have played in a bowl game in each of his first seven seasons and have won at least 11 games in three of the past four years.

Nebraska Football
Nebraska is 870-357-40 all-time, one of just eight schools with 800 all-time victories 
- Nebraska has won five national championships (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, 1997).
- The Cornhuskers have won 43 conference championships.
- NU’s 50 all-time bowl appearances rank third nationally.
- Since 1970, NU has 436 wins, 25 more than any other school.
- Nebraska’s 107 football Academic All-Americans lead the nation.
- The Huskers have 110 All-Americans in school history.

Scouting Michigan State
Defending Big Ten champion Michigan State begins defense of its title on Saturday, when the Spartans open conference play by hosting Nebraska. Michigan State, which has won 18 of its last 20 games, has won 10 consecutive games against Big Ten opponents, all by double digits. The Spartans have also won 10 straight at home.

As has been its trademark, Michigan State again possesses one of the nation’s top defenses. MSU ranks fourth nationally in rushing defense, allowing only 78.3 yards per game. The Spartans are 11th in total defense, surrendering just 289.0 yards per game, and MSU ranks second in the Big Ten and in the top 15 nationally in sacks.

While the defense has been stout, Michigan State’s offense has also been one of the top units in the country. Led by quarterback Connor Cook, the Spartans rank in the top 50 nationally in both passing and rushing, helping MSU rank 18th nationally in total offense with an average of 515.0 yards per game. Michigan State leads the Big Ten and is third nationally in scoring, averaging 50.3 points per game.

Cook has thrown for 837 yards and nine touchdowns in 2014, while completing 69 percent of his passes. He ranks fifth nationally in passing yards per attempt, third in passing efficiency, 14th in passing yards per completion and 14th in completion percentage. His top target is Tony Lippett, who has hauled in 22 passes for 421 yards and six touchdowns. Lippett is second in the country in receiving touchdowns, while ranking 13th in receiving yards per game.

Jeremy Langford is the Spartans’ leading rusher with 340 yards and three touchdowns.
Michigan State also excels in the details. The Spartans have forced 12 turnovers this season, the seventh-highest total nationally. MSU, which has not lost a fumble, leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth nationally with only three turnovers this fall. Overall, the Spartans boast the nation’s third-best turnover margin. MSU also has been penalized only 20 times this season, and the Spartans leads the nation in time of possession by more than a minute.

Series History
Nebraska has won seven of the eight all-time meetings against Michigan State, after the 14th-ranked Spartans earned their first victory with a 41-28 win last year in Lincoln. Saturday’s game marks the second meeting where both teams are ranked. In 2011, No. 13 NU handed No. 9 Michigan State its only conference loss with a 24-3 win in Lincoln.

Nebraska is 2-1 against the Spartans since joining the Big Ten. NU is also 3-0 all-time in East Lansing, including a 28-24 victory in 2012, when Nebraska scored the game-winning touchdown with six seconds remaining. Bo Pelini is 3-1 against Michigan State, including a 17-3 victory in the 2003 Alamo Bowl when Pelini was NU’s interim coach.

Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pelini
Bo Pelini is in his seventh season as Nebraska’s head coach and owns a 63-24 record with the Huskers. Pelini has won or shared four divisional titles in his first six seasons as head coach, including the 2012 Big Ten Legends Division crown. He guided NU to three straight Big 12 North Division crowns from 2008 to 2010, becoming the first coach in the history of the Big 12 to win at least a share of a division title in each of his first three years. 

He has guided Nebraska to at least nine wins each of his six seasons, and three 10-win seasons. Pelini is third on the Nebraska career victories list, trailing only Tom Osborne and Bob Devaney. 
Pelini took charge of the Huskers after a highly successful five-year run as a collegiate defensive coordinator, including orchestrating NU’s defensive efforts in 2003. Pelini picked up his first college head coaching victory as NU’s interim coach in the 2003 Alamo Bowl against Michigan State.

Following his one season at Nebraska, Pelini served as the co-defensive coordinator at Oklahoma in 2004, helping the Sooners to the Big 12 title and BCS title game. He then followed with three seasons as the defensive coordinator at LSU. With the Tigers, Pelini led three consecutive defenses to No. 3 national rankings in total defense. He culminated his time in Baton Rouge by helping the Tigers to the 2007 national championship.

In addition to his five seasons as an assistant at the collegiate level, Pelini coached in the NFL for nine seasons, serving three years each with the San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers. Pelini was a team captain and four-year letterman as a safety at Ohio State from 1987 to 1990.

Michigan State Mark Dantonio
Mark Dantonio owns an 85-47 record in 11 seasons as a head coach, including a 67-30 mark in eight years at Michigan State. Dantonio has led MSU to 18 wins in its last 20 games, including 10 consecutive victories over Big Ten opponents. Under Dantonio, MSU has played in two of the last three Big Ten Championship Games, defeating No. 2 Ohio State to win the 2013 title.

Michigan State finished 13-1 in 2013 and capped the year with a 24-20 win over Stanford in the Rose Bowl. The Spartans went undefeated in league play, becoming the first team in Big Ten history to win all eight of their conference games by double digits. MSU finished with a No. 3 ranking in 2013, the program’s highest ranking since 1966.

Dantonio has led Michigan State to four consecutive winning seasons, including three years with 11 or more wins. Since the 2010 season, Dantonio has guided MSU to a 45-13 record. The only coach to lead Michigan State to multiple double-digit win seasons, Dantonio has guided MSU to a school-record three consecutive bowl victories.

Before coming to Michigan State, Dantonio led Cincinnati to an 18-17 record and a pair of bowl appearances in three seasons as the Bearcats’ head coach. Prior to becoming a head coach, Dantonio spent more than 20 seasons as a collegiate assisant. He served as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator from 2001 to 2003, after spending six seasons on the defensive staff at Michigan State from 1995 to 2000. He went 0-4 against Nebraska while coaching the secondary at Kansas from 1991 to 1994. Dantonio also boasts experience at the FCS level after serving as the defensive coordinator at Youngstown State for five seasons and as Akron’s secondary coach in 1985.

Nebraska Looks for Success in Big Ten Road Opener
After securing a victory in its Big Ten opener against Illinois, Nebraska will take to the road for the first time in conference action. The Huskers are 1-2 in Big Ten road openers, defeating Purdue last season, while losing at No. 7 Wisconsin in 2011 and at 12th-ranked Ohio State in 2012.

Nebraska has had good success on the road since joining the Big Ten. The Huskers are 8-4 in conference road games since 2011, with wins in six of their last seven Big Ten road games. Under Pelini, Nebraska is 17-7 overall in conference road games, including a 9-3 record in Big 12 Conference road contests.

Top-10 Ranked Spartans Await in East Lansing
Nebraska will take on a 3-1 Michigan State team that is ranked 10th in both the Associated Press Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll. MSU is the highest ranked opponent for Nebraska since the Huskers faced No. 6 Georgia in the 2013 Capital One Bowl.

The Huskers are 9-14 against ranked teams under Head Coach Bo Pelini, including a 2-8 mark against top-10 opponents. Nebraska’s most recent victory over a top-10 team was a 24-3 victory over No. 9 Michigan State in Lincoln in 2011. Nebraska also defeated No. 7 Missouri in Lincoln in 2010.

Nebraska is 3-7 against ranked teams away from Lincoln under Pelini, with the most recent win at No. 12 Penn State in 2011. The Huskers’ last victory over a top-10 team on the road was a 27-14 win at No. 2 Washington in 1997.

Powerful Rushing Attack Hopes to Continue Success Against MSU
Nebraska boasts one of the nation’s top rushing attacks, averaging 354.8 yards per game to rank first in the Big Ten and second nationally. The Huskers have rushed for better than 300 yards three times this season, including two games of more than 400 yards. Michigan State features a strong rush defense, allowing 78.2 yards per game to rank second in the Big Ten and fourth nationally. The Spartans allow just 2.8 yards per rush.

Over the past three seasons, the Huskers have been a rare Michigan State opponent that has had success moving the ball on the ground. Nebraska has averaged 228.3 rushing yards per game in three meetings with the Spartans as Big Ten opponents, including 313 rushing yards at Spartan Stadium in 2012. That total marks the highest rushing total for a MSU opponent since 2005. Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez (205 yards) and Ameer Abdullah (110 yards) each topped 100 rushing yards in that contest. In 11 home games since that contest, Michigan State has allowed just one 100-yard rusher.

- In its 11 home games since Nebraska rushed for 313 yards at Spartan Stadium, MSU has allowed just 582 rushing yards on 320 carries. Excluding the 2012 home game against Nebraska, MSU has allowed just 75.0 rushing yards per game at home since the start of the 2011 season. (711 att.-1,801 yards)

- In the past two meetings between the schools, Nebraska has averaged 247.5 rushing yards. Michigan State has allowed its other 14 Big Ten regular-season opponents an average of just 69.0 rushing yards per game and 2.3 yards per carry.

- Husker senior I-back Ameer Abdullah has produced 100-yard rushing games against Michigan State in both 2012 and 2013. Abdullah and Ohio State’s Braxton Miller are the only players with two career 100-yard rushing games against MSU. In fact, all other current Big Ten running backs have a total of two 100-yard rushing games against the Spartans.

5,000/3,000/2,000
Seniors Ameer Abdullah and Kenny Bell have been linked throughout their Nebraska careers as leaders and playmakers for the Husker offense. Fittingly, the duo hit some significant milestones on the same afternoon in the season opener against Florida Atlantic.

- Abdullah cracked the 5,000-yard mark in career all-purpose yardage with a 241-yard effort. He has continued to pile up all-purpose yards throughout the season and now has 5,974 career all-purpose yards to pass 1972 Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers (5,586) and move to the top of the NU career chart.

- Abdullah’s 232 yards rushing against Florida Atlantic were a career high and his second 200-yard game in his NU career. The total also pushed him past 3,000 career rushing yards, joining seven other Huskers. With 200-yard games against Miami (229) and Illinois (208), Abdullah is quickly closing in on 4,000 yards. Abdullah’s 3,810 career are third in school history and just 70 yards behind Ahman Green’s career total (3,880).

- Bell recorded his fourth career 100-yard receiving game with four catches for 116 yards vs. FAU, including a 63-yard reception. He added his fifth 100-yard game with five catches for 105 yards against Illinois, including a 63-yard TD reception. Bell has increased his career total to 2,290 receiving yards, becoming the third Husker to reach 2,000 career receiving yards, joining Johnny Rodgers (2,479) and Nate Swift (2,476).

Click on the "Game Notes" link in the related links section at the top of this page for more notes on this weekend's game.