Nebraska vs. Penn State, Prediction, Odds, Preview, and Pick, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025
There will be a chill in the air in Central Pennsylvania on Saturday night at 7pmET, but all eyes in Happy Valley will be on this Nebraska vs. Penn State prediction. Nebraska (7-3, 4-3 B10) has had a strong season as they'd like to break the five-way tie for sixth place in the Big 10. PSU (4-6, 1-6 B10) has had a rough season with former coach James Franklin taking another job at Virginia Tech and interim coach Terry Smith trying to keep things together. This was supposed to be a battle of star quarterbacks Drew Allar against Dylan Raiola, but both had season-ending injuries and we'll now see T.J. Lateef of Nebraska against Ethan Grunkemeyer of Penn State. Check this battle out and other big college football games on Saturday at Stat Salt.
Lateef takes over and wins!
Dylan Raiola (2,000yds passing, 18 TDs, 6 INTs) was supposed to be the next Patrick Mahomes or at least Baby Mahomes due to his slight resemblance. Unfortunately, Raiola suffered a broken leg on Nov. 1 against USC (21-17 loss). But a week later, Nebraska bounced back thanks to freshman T.J. Lateef, who completed 13 of 15 for 205 yards with three TDs in his first start. In just four games, Lateef is completing 85.3% of his passes for 466 yards with four TDs, and two rushing TDs.
The Cornhuskers were successful because they played strong defense despite giving up two late touchdowns against UCLA to make things interesting. Lateef was assisted by Emmet Johnson, who had 28 carries for 129 yards and a TD. Johnson has been the constant on offense with 1,131 yards rushing and 11 TDs (5.6ypc).
Despite the loss of Raiola, Nebraska is going bowling somewhere, but they'd like to be more consistent down the stretch, having split their last four games against Minnesota (24-6 loss), Northwestern (28-21 win), USC (21-17 loss) and UCLA (28-21 win). They are coming off a bye so they have a chance to heal some injuries.
The defense has been incredible against the pass (134.6ypg, 3rd) but a little less than average against the run at 85th in the nation, allowing 161.1 yards per game. Offensively, they rank 91st in rushing yards per game (137.4ypg), despite having Johnson.
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Key Injuries for Nebraska:
- QB D. Raiola (broken leg) is out for the season.
- RB Kwinten Ives (undisc.) is questionable. Has 119 yds. rushing.
Penn State gets first win for Terry Smith
Terry Smith didn't expect to be the interim head coach at Penn State, but that's what happened to him after Franklin was fired on Oct. 12 after losing to Northwestern by one at home as a 21-point favorite. The Nittany Lions went on to lose to Iowa by one, Ohio State 38-14, Indiana at home by three and last week, broke a six-game losing streak by beating Michigan State 28-10. Grunkemeyer threw for two TD passes to lead the Nittany Lions to the comfortable win.
| # | Handicapper | Profit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rob Vincilleti | +450.00 |
| 2 |  Sean Higgs | +327.00 |
| 3 |  David Delano | +182.00 |
| 4 |  Stephen Nover | +100.00 |
| 5 |  Terry Edelmann | +100.00 |
At 4-6, Penn State still has a shot at a bowl game if they win on Saturday win at Rutgers the following Saturday. Grunkemeyer has big shoes to fill with Allar (1,110yds, 8 TDs, 3 INTs), being a potential high draft pick (at some point). Grunkemeyer has 689 yards passing, a 64.9% completion rate with four TDs and four picks. The redshirt freshman has some help in the running game from Kaytron Allen, who has 917 yards rushing and 12 TDs. Nicolas Singleton adds 419 yards rushing and nine TDs.
Defensively, PSU is as good as anybody, allowing just 316.1 yards per game (19th) and 167.7 yards per gaem in the air.
Key Injuries for Penn State:
- DL J.Mayer (Undis.) is questionable.
- QB Drew Allar (broken ankle) is out for the season.
Spread Pick for Nebraska vs. Penn State
Nebraska vs. Penn State Prediction and Pick
- Nebraska +8.5 (4 units)
This is a strange line. I know Raiola is out, but so is Allar. You have two young quarterbacks trying to prove themselves, but the better team this season has been Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are also coming off a bye, which should help the young quarterback get more acclimated. Also, Matt Rhule my want to show his alma mater that even though he's staying at Nebraska, that he would be a great candidate to take over for Franklin next season.
- Under 44.5 (4 units)
Two young quarterbacks with two pretty strong defenses in freezing cold weather at night. Expect a lot of running the football and each teams knows that their quarterback has to protect the football to win the game so they can't put them in bad position. Nebraska has averaged just 19.8 points per game in their last four games.
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