The stage is set for what promises to be an exhilarating Big Ten matchup between the Wisconsin Badgers and the No.3 Penn State Nittany Lions. The game will take place on Saturday, Oct. 26, and what better spot to do so than under the lights at Camp Randall Stadium?
This will be the 21st meeting between the two programs, dating back to 1953. Penn State currently leads the series 11-9, winning the last five games, most recently a 16-10 victory over the Badgers in 2021.
Wisconsin faces a massive challenge to reverse that trend this year, but rankings aside, both teams ride a wave of momentum into their Week 9 showdown. Wisconsin is coming off of three consecutive conference wins after two dominating games against both Purdue and Rutgers, as well as a solid 23-3 victory against Northwestern last weekend. Penn State, on the other hand, is 6-0 for the season and coming off a bye after defeating USC 33-30 in overtime two weeks ago.
Wisconsin growing in confidence
For Wisconsin, this matchup will be the third test of the season against a ranked opponent. The Badgers took on then-No. 4 Alabama in Week 3, losing 42-10, before falling to then-No. 13 USC seven days later. The Badgers started strongly against the Trojans, taking a 21-10 lead into the second half, but couldn’t continue the success once stepping back onto the field, eventually falling 38-21 in Los Angeles.
But in the three games following those tough losses, Wisconsin has been a different program. The Badgers have outscored their last three opponents 117-16, a feat head coach Luke Fickell attributes to the team’s continued growth on both sides of the ball.
Fickell admitted the game against Northwestern was more of a battle than they would have liked, but he expressed pride in his team for rising to each occasion.
“We’re continuing to get better, each and every week,” Fickell said at Monday’s press conference. “The last few in particular, we’ve seen some steps that we’ve done a really good job at taking opportunities. That complementary ball that really had to take place—it did.”
Wisconsin will be relying heavily upon both offensive and defensive units to unsettle this established Penn State program.
For quarterback Braedyn Locke, this game offers a “tremendous opportunity” for the Badgers’ players, coaches and staff.
“I’m a big believer that this is what you come to Wisconsin for—to play at Camp Randall at night against a big time opponent,” Locke said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
That anticipation was pouring throughout the rest of the Wisconsin practice field on Tuesday as well.
“We just got to go in there knowing we’re capable of doing it,” said rising star running back, Tawee Walker. “We have to go in with that same mindset that no matter who we play, in practice we’re gonna be the same person every day, the same team in every game.”
Walker has been a dominant force for this Wisconsin offense and will certainly be a key part of Wisconsin’s run game on Saturday.
The senior transfer from Oklahoma has made an immediate impact for the Badgers since the start of the season. Stepping up after Week 1 starter Chez Mellusi stepped away from football due to ongoing injuries, Walker rushed for three touchdowns in consecutive games against Rutgers and Purdue, and he has run for more than 100 yards in the Badgers’ last three games.
Now tasked with taking down the third-ranked team in the nation, a common theme runs through the Wisconsin locker room: Penn State is just another team, and this game is just another chance to showcase the progress the Badgers have quickly made this season.
Although he doesn’t want his players to fixate on the rankings, Fickell emphasized that in this newly expanded Big Ten conference, games of this magnitude are what they signed up for.
“This is a big game because we’ve had an opportunity to make it a big game,” he said. “The way our guys have played the last few weeks makes it a bigger game. Nothing else matters.”
Refreshed Penn State looks to remain undefeated
The Nittany Lions have a real opportunity to make it to the College Football Playoff— Nicole Auerbach’s latest CFP projection has Penn State as the seventh seed in the expanded 12-team field— but without a solid win on Saturday against the Badgers, their chances could take a significant hit.
Following a week off from scheduled play, Penn State head coach James Franklin said the bye allowed the team to regroup and focus ahead on Saturday’s game.
“Obviously this is going to be a big week for us,” Franklin said. “We had a good practice on Sunday—a little bit different practice model obviously, not having the previous game to watch film on or do corrections. We were able to get a little bit more of a head start on Wisconsin.”
Fresh legs should play a factor for Penn State, as will its dynamic offense, known around the league as one that wreaks havoc on opposing team’s defenses.
It’s an element of Penn State’s offensive model that Wisconsin defensive coordinator Mike Tressel says the Badgers have to adjust to and refuse to let slow them down.
“There’s no doubt that part of their plan is to give enough exotic, crazy looks to get guys’ heads spinning, get them thinking, rather than playing fast,” said Tressel at Monday’s press conference. “Our strengths the last couple of weeks have been how fast we’ve played and how little we’ve thought.”
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar is coming off a huge day, when he threw for 391 passing yards: the sixth-most in a single game in school history.
Another key player for the Nittany Lions is tight end Tyler Warren. Warren brought in 17 receptions for 224 yards and a touchdown against USC, tying the record for most catches by a tight end among FBS schools. In doing so, Warren also set a single-game Penn State and Big Ten record in receiving yards for a tight end.
“I think [Warren] has probably double the amount of catches of the second most receptions on the team,” safety Hunter Wohler said after Tuesday’s practice. “We have to put a lot of attention and a lot of detail on the game plan for him and how we want to cover him. Just understanding how Penn State wants to get him the ball and responding to that.”
How to watch Penn State vs Wisconsin:
- When: Saturday, October 26
- Where: Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET (Pregame coverage begins at 7:00pm ET)
- Watch: NBC, Peacock
About the Author
Sophia Ross is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, majoring in journalism with certificates in sports communication and digital studies. She serves as the football beat reporter for her student newspaper, The Daily Cardinal, and also works for the BTN StudentU program. Through the Big Ten Network, Sophia is a student color commentator and helped to establish the first group of student sideline reporters at Wisconsin, which she is a part of. Upon graduation, she hopes to venture into the sports media realm and continue growing as a journalist.
