State College, PA

Football was a sidenote for a change at Penn State as events off the field unfortunately overshadowed an important Big Ten Conference matchup.

On the field Rex Burkhead rushed for over 100 yards and a touchdown No. 17 Nebraska downed No. 12 Penn State, 17-14 Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

However this game will be remembered for the tumultuous week that led up to it including the firing of legendary coach Joe Paterno.

Burkhead finished with 126 yards for the Huskers (8-2, 4-2 Big Ten), who led 17-0 midway through the third quarter after Burkhead found the end zone from 14-yards out.

Penn State's Silas Redd entered this contest as the conference's third-leading rusher, but left midway through the third quarter and did not return until late in the fourth. He was then stopped for no gain on two straight runs on third and fourth down deep in Nittany Lion territory.

Stephfon Green rushed for a pair of scores for Penn State (8-2, 5-1), the second making it 17-14 with just under six minutes to play.

The game ended a week that no one possibly could have forseen as how the Paterno era would end.

Wednesday night Penn State's board of trustees announced the firing of Paterno as part of the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky child-sex abuse scandal.

In 46 seasons at Penn State, Paterno guided the Nittany Lions to 409 wins and two national championships. His assistant of 33 years, defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, was named the interim head coach.

In tribute to the victims, Penn State marched out arm-in-arm through a corridor formed by the Nittany Lion band and Football Letterman Club following a moment of silence from the crowd.

Before the opening kickoff, players and coaches from both teams took a knee at midfield while Nebraska assistant Ron Brown led a prayer gathering.

Aside from Paterno, Penn State was without assistant coach Mike McQueary, who was placed on indefinite paid leave Friday by the school. McQueary has been at the center of the scandal as a grand jury witness to the 2002 abuse charges.

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