Penn State Scandal: Nebraska Stuck in No-Win Situation in Happy Valley

The Nebraska Cornhuskers knew a move from the Big 12 to the Big Ten would be difficult, but no one could've imagined just how trying it would be for them this week, in every aspect, as they step into the eye of the Jerry Sandusky storm that has sullied Penn State, cost Joe Paterno his job and brought incredible sadness to Happy Valley.

The Huskers are hoping to hang tough in the football hodgepodge better known as the Legends Division, where they find themselves in a tie for second by way of a 3-2 record in conference play.

That will be no easy task, given the tremendous distraction that the Penn State scandal has undoubtedly become, even in Lincoln, and the unfathomable mix of emotions with which the Nittany Lions will surely be playing on a solemn Senior Day.

Penn State also happens to have a pretty good football team this year, though that fact has rightfully taken a back seat this week. The Nittany Lions, ranked 12th in the BCS, are 8-1 this season and have yet to lose in conference play.

Granted, they've only played two good teams this season, losing to No. 3 Alabama, 27-11, and beating Iowa, 13-3.

The Huskers' two-headed, backfield monster of Taylor Martinez and Rex Burkhead figures to give the Nittany Lions' stout defense fits, though not exactly of a variety that is at all unfamiliar to Penn State in the Big Ten.

Ultimately, though, there is no winning for Nebraska on Saturday. If the Huskers lose, they'll be seen as having fallen to a team they should've beaten, a team whose very foundation was so unexpectedly rocked that it could hardly have hoped to compete.

And if the Huskers win, well, they'll get little credit for defeating that very same downtrodden opponent on account of factors well beyond the control of the players and coaches at this point.

More importantly, the game itself will forever remain an afterthought, with thoughts of Sandusky's victims and the shame visited upon Penn State and the sport of college football as a whole rightfully taking center stage, regardless of the outcome on the gridiron.

All Nebraska can hope to do is make the best of a bad situation, which, given the severity of this fiasco, would be all too difficult for anyone at any age, much less a collection of 18- to 22-year-olds.