Penn State Football: Ranking the top 20 wins in program history
By Brad Weiss
17. 2002 Penn State football 40, (8) Nebraska 7
The Penn State football team went into the 2002 college football season reeling, as they had posted losing seasons in back-to-back years for the first time under head coach Joe Paterno. In an early-season matchup against Nebraska, nobody really expected the Nittany Lions to do much, especially with the Cornhuskers fresh off an appearance in the national title game the year before.
However, the power of Beaver Stadium once again took over, and Penn State would dominate the Cornhuskers throughout. Penn State would come away with a blowout victory against the No. 8 team in the country, their first win against a top-10 team in three years, and they did it in front of a record crown of 110,753 screaming fans.
Both Larry Johnson and Michael Robinson had two touchdowns apiece, as the offense got rolling and the Nebraska defense had no answer for them. This game is widely considered the return of Penn State football, as they made it to the Capital One Bowl, a loss against Auburn, and finished ranked No. 16 in the country.