Huskers face tricky slate down the stretch

For the Nebraska Cornhuskers, November is shaping up like one big obstacle course.

After beating Michigan last weekend, 21st-ranked Nebraska can wrap up a spot in the Big Ten title game with four more wins — but it won't be easy. First up is a major test at Michigan State on Saturday.

My message to the team is you get what you earn in this world. They are not going to give you anything, Cornhuskers coach Bo Pelini said. You have to earn it and you have to be ready to go take it. It's as simple as that. It's not going to just happen by mistake. It's not going to happen by magic. You have to put the work in and match the work ethic and the process with what you want to result to be.

Nebraska (6-2, 3-1 Big Ten) certainly earned the inside track to the conference title game with its 23-9 win over Michigan. But a lot can change over the next month. After facing Michigan State (5-4, 2-3), the Huskers have a home game against Penn State. They also play at Iowa in the regular season finale.

Michigan State has struggled this year, but the Spartans are certainly capable of winning this weekend and shaking up the Legends Division race. In fact, Michigan State already threw a bit of a wrench into the Leaders Division last weekend with a victory over Wisconsin.

Nebraska's Taylor Martinez is set to break 2001 Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch's school career total-offense record Saturday. Martinez has 7,801 career yards of total offense. Crouch had 7,915.

The Huskers have never lost to Michigan State and beat the Spartans 24-3 last year. That was Michigan State's only conference loss of the regular season.

The Spartans are a longshot to return to the Big Ten title game, but they're used to playing on a big stage and they've been tested plenty this season. All five of Michigan State's conference games so far have been decided by four points or less.