By now the bruises from last November have healed. The cleat marks left on the chests of the Nebraska Blackshirts when they actually got close enough to Chris Brown and the other Colorado Buffalo running backs to get run over have faded away.

The psychological wounds of Nov. 23, 2001 have been dealt with, the defensive front seven tweaked and the focus regained.

Now comes the test.

Nebraska will put a variety of things on the line when it travels to Penn State this weekend, but the biggest may be the Cornhuskers' rush defense. None of NU's first three opponents -- Arizona State, Troy State and Utah State -- have been known as in-your-face, grind it out rushing offense.

Call it mini-rivalry

It's not the Big Game, with all the hype and passion of Stanford against Cal, but San Jose State versus Stanford has had its moments over the years. Fans of either school can't forget the 1981 game, when SJSU coach Jack Elway unleashed all out blitzes on the Stanford quarterback, sacking him nine times. John Elway yelled at his father to stop blitzing. Jack Elway told his son to shut up and play. Saturday the teams meet at Stanford Stadium, where San Jose State has won three straight games, in what may be one of the last meetings between the schools. The Stanford-SJSU series may be in jeopardy. The NCAA has tightened Division I-A membership requirements, which require schools to average at least 15,000 in attendance over at least five home games. Last year the Spartans played only four home games and averaged 10, 207 fans. Coach Fitz Hill said this week's game is just a way to get ready for WAC play and to get the attention of high school prospects. "I'd like to play all Pac-10 schools,'' Hill said. "It helps our recruiting." Hill is hoping SJSU can have the breakout year that Fresno State had last year, when the Bulldogs beat Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin and were ranked as high as No. 8 in the nation. "People talk about money games but that helps me recruit,'' Hill said. "People don't think Fresno State is playing money games anymore." The Spartans almost took the first step toward such an impact, leading No. 14 Washington 10-0 at halftime before falling 34-10. -- Mark Wangrin

"We've played three pretty much spread offenses,'' said NU defensive coordinator Craig Bohl. "They rely on creating creases to run the ball. Penn State has the ability to run option football. They have a big, 260-pound fullback, a good tailback and an offensive line that has a 350-pound tackle. They have the ability to run power football as well.

"So far this year we haven't been challenged by someone who's tried to line up and knock us off the ball."

There was a time where that wouldn't have elicited a rise from the Cornhuskers. Twenty-one times they've led their conference in rushing defense, three times in the six-year history of the Big 12.

Last year, alas, was not one of them. Nebraska was only fifth best in the Big 12, letting up an average of 116.9 yards a game, and was gouged for 380 yards by Colorado and allowed a school record eight rushing touchdowns.

So far this season the Cornhuskers haven't been up to the stinginess of previous Blackshirt units. Nebraska ranks a pedestrian 40th in rush defense, allowing an average of 102.7 yards a game and 3.05 a carry.

Penn State will provide NU with a test on two levels. Tailback Larry Johnson, one of 42 players on the preseason Doak Walker Award Watch List, opened with a respectable 92 yard, 18-carry performance against UCF. Quarterback Zach Mills is a run-pass threat who will run the sprint option and keep on draws and traps.

"He's not a guy whose been coached to get in the open field and slide,'' Bohl said.

Both are running behind an offensive line that's started the same combination for nine straight games.

Proving the rush defense is back isn't the only potential specter the Cornhuskers face. Penn State has scheduled a reunion of its 1982 national championship team for Saturday. That team beat No.2 Nebraska 27-24 in Happy Valley, the Cornhuskers' last visit there.

NU will catch one break on the mojo -- ABC announcer Todd Blackledge, who quarterbacked that team and rallied them from a 24-21 deficit, throwing the winning touchdown pass with four seconds left -- will be calling the Georgia-South Carolina game instead of this one.

"That game, at that point in time, is long gone," said NU coach Frank Solich, who was in his third season as an assistant to Tom Osborne. "It's long gone, in terms of the players and in terms of the coaches."

Saturday he'll find out if Nov. 23, 2001 -- or the day of a dominant Nebraska rush defense -- is long gone as well.

Around the Big 12

Baylor
Baylor hasn't gotten the consistent quarterback play it's wanted but that doesn't mean some Bears were able to mount an aerial assault when the team hosted Div-I-AA Samford. A private plane flew over Jack Casey Stadium towing banners that read tweaked athletic director Tom Stanton and head coach Kevin Steele -- "Tom Stanton, Thou Shalt Not Steele" and "BU Football is 14-53 Under Tom Stanton." … Sophomore Aaron Karas may have sewn up the starting quarterback job. He led the Bears to scores on his first four possessions before giving way to senior and former starter Greg Cicero, whose first and only possession ended in a punt.

Colorado
Colorado quarterback Craig Ochs is questionable for the Buffaloes game against Southern California after suffering his third concussion at CU, his first this season. Ochs was taken to Boulder Community Hospital at halftime of Saturday's win over San Diego State and a CT scan was negative. Senior Robert Hodge, whose junior college coach called him "the JC equivalent of Michael Vick" would be the likely starter against USC if Ochs is unable to play.

Kansas
First-year Kansas coach Mark Mangino is shuffling his lineup, trying to get the Jayhawks on track. Junior Bill Whittemore has replaced Zach Dyer at quarterback and two others players have made position switches. Leo Bookman has switched from defensive back to wide receiver and Justin Henry switched from center to guard. Clark Green ended Reggie Duncan's string of 10-straight starts at tailback, but Mangino said injuries to Duncan led to that move.

Iowa State
Iowa State will try to continue its recent dominance over cross-state rival Iowa, which has lost three straight to the Cyclones. … ISU hopes its kicking problems are ironed out. After hitting only 2 of 5 attempts in the first two games, kickers Adam Benike and Tony Yelk found their range against Tennessee Tech. Yelk, who had missed four straight, all from 40 yards or longer, hit one from 45 yards in the second quarter and Benike made two field goals.

Kansas State
Kansas State may have the next Charles Woodson. Cornerback Terence Newman has done a pretty good job living up to the standard set by the former Michigan cornerback, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1997. A starter at cornerback, Newman caught a 51-yard touchdown pass from Marc Dunn on his first play at wide receiver and also returned a punt 40 yards for a touchdown. … Ell Roberson didn't play in the second half last week coach Bill Snyder said no position change is being considered.

Missouri
Even though it's early, Missouri is already breathing rarefied air. The Tigers' have started 2-0 for only the fourth time since 1983. With a win over Bowling Green they can go 3-0 for the first time since 1981, when they started out 5-0. ... In two of coach Gary Pinkel's 10 seasons at Toledo the Rockets led the NCAA in turnovers gained. After two games the Tigers are tied for 10th, with eight takeaways. Last year Missouri had only 15 the entire season, worst in the Big 12.

Nebraska
The sellout crowd that saw Nebraska pummel Utah State was the Huskers' NCAA-record 250th straight at Memorial Stadium, dating back to Nov. 3, 1962. The Huskers also ran their home win streak to 24, longest in I-A. …Linebackers Barrett Ruud and Chad Sievers and rush end Chris Kelsay were held out of practice early in the week but are expected to play against Penn State.

Oklahoma
Nate Hybl may be the most pampered player in Oklahoma over the next few weeks as the Sooners try to survive until redshirt freshman Brent Rawls is able to come back from injured thumb ligaments on his throwing arm. Starter Jason White was lost for the season with a torn right ACL suffered late in the first quarter of the Sooners win over Alabama and the only other scholarship quarterbacks on the roster are freshmen Paul Thompson and Noah Allen, one of whom could play this week against UTEP. OU has an open date next week before hosting South Florida on Sept 28.

Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is in a rare situation hosting UCLA this week. The Cowboys have only played two home games against non-conference ranked teams in the last 24 years, losing to Southern Mississippi in 2000 and beating Mississippi State in 1998. … Backup safety Charlie Ward is likely lost for the season with a torn ACL.

Texas
Texas coach Mack Brown's return to North Carolina has everyone at UT excited, except for Brown, who's downplayed the return. Brown left the Tar Heels in December 1997 only a day after telling his players he would stay. Brown, who vacations in July in North Carolina, said the return would be more emotional if it happened in 1998. "There's only one coach on our staff (offensive coordinator Greg Davis) who came from North Carolina and only one coach on their staff (Ken Browning) who worked with us," Brown said. "And there's only four of their players I helped recruit. There are not a lot of ties with the football program, but a lot of ties with the state."

Texas A&M
Mark Farris' tenure as starter may be over as Texas A&M continues its quest for consistent quarterback play. In a 14-12 win at Pitt the Aggies went to sophomore Dustin Long (9 of 18 for 119 yards) after Mark Farris, plagued in the preseason by a sore elbow, started only 5 of 13 for 80 yards. Coach R.C. Slocum has an open week to make that decision and to figure how much to play highly regarded freshman Reggie McNeal against Virginia Tech on Sept. 21. McNeal made the trip but did not play at Pitt. … Halfback Richard Whitaker retired after unsuccessful comebacks from two knee surgeries.

Texas Tech
Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury's darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidacy took a strange turn in the second quarter of the Red Raiders' uninspired win over SMU -- toward the bench. The senior was taken out of the game in favor of backup B.J. Symons as coach Mike Leach looked to inspire his struggling team. Kingsbury returned in the third quarter and became the school's all-time passing leader (8,122). He'll remain the starter.

Around the WAC
Boise State's hopes of winning the WAC took a blow when quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie broke his right ankle in the second quarter against Arkansas. Dinwiddie will miss five games, including WAC showdowns against Fresno State and Hawaii. Senior B.J. Rhode, who is 1-0 as a starter, will fill in… Louisiana Tech has opened eyes with its passing game but the Bulldogs have quietly put together a sturdy run defense. In two games they've allowed only 122.5 yards a game, down from 210 last year. … Fresno State junior Rodney Davis went into the Oregon game set to split time with Matt Rivera at halfback. But Rivera left with an ankle injury in the second quarter and Davis put a claim on the starting job by gaining 118 yards on 20 carries against the Ducks … Hawaii quarterback Tommy Chang needs the open week. Playing with a broken pinky on his throwing hand, Chang threw four interceptions against BYU. … It won't get easier for UTEP following the 77-17 loss to Kentucky, the most points allowed by the Miners since an 83-7 romp by BYU in 1980. Next up for the Miners is Oklahoma … Rice fans are hoping its not how you start but how you finish. The Owls are 0-2 for the first time since 1994, when they rebounded to share the Southwest Conference title. … SMU has found a running game. Halfback Keylon Kincade's 160 yards rushing against Texas Tech tied for the third-most in school history, not bad at a program that boasted the Pony Express of Eric Dickerson and Craig James in the mid 1980s. … San Jose State always has a schedule heavy with Pac-10 teams but the Spartans are only 3-19 in those games since 1994. All three wins, though, were against Stanford, this week's opponent … Nevada running back Chance Kretschmer is listed as questionable for the BYU game Saturday after being forced to leave the Wolf Pack's opener with a concussion. … Tulsa won't get a break in trying to end its 12-game losing streak, longest in the nation. The Hurricane travels to Louisiana Tech, which has won five of the six games between the schools.

Mark Wangrin covers college football for the San Antonio News-Express.