MADISON, Wis. — No. 3 Penn State has one more hurdle to clear before it can take an undefeated record into a showdown with No. 4 Ohio State.
It’s an obstacle that looks much tougher now than it did a few weeks ago.
Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) lost back-to-back games to No. 15 Alabama and Southern California but has since trounced Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern by a combined margin of 117-16. Wisconsin has a chance to beat a Top 25 team for the first time in coach Luke Fickell’s two-year tenure when Penn State visits Camp Randall Stadium.
“They’re really coning on right now, just watching them on tape, how clean they’re playing, how hard they’re playing,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “It’s impressive to watch.”
Penn State (6-0, 3-0) still has reason to feel confident.
The Nittany Lions had two weeks to prepare for this game after passing a major road test Oct. 12 by rallying to win 33-30 at Southern California in overtime. Penn State also has won its last five meetings with Wisconsin and hasn’t lost to the Badgers since 2011.
Wisconsin is just 2-13 in its last 15 games against Top 25 teams, including an 0-4 mark under Fickell. The Badgers haven’t beaten a top-10 team since a 31-18 victory over top-ranked Ohio State in 2010.
“This is what you come to Wisconsin for – to play at Camp Randall at night against a big-time opponent,” Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke said. “It doesn’t get any better than that. We’ve talked a lot about kind of having everything that we want in front of us. This is part of the climb.”
Warren’s encore
This marks the first appearance for Penn State’s Tyler Warren since he delivered one of the most productive single-game performances by any tight end in recent college football history.
Warren had 17 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown against Southern California. His 17 receptions tied a Bowl Subdivision single-game record for a tight end. New Mexico’s Emilio Valley did it in 1967 and Northwestern’s Jon Harvey matched it in 1982.
What made his performance particularly impressive was that 136 of his 224 yards receiving came after he’d caught the ball.
Running with Walker
Wisconsin’s Tawee Walker has rushed for 418 yards and six touchdowns during the three-game winning streak. Walker took over as Wisconsin’s main running back after Chez Mellusi, who has dealt with a variety of injuries the last few years, stepped away from the program in early October to work on getting healthy.
Walker is running behind a veteran offensive line. Jack Nelson, Joe Huber, Jake Renfro, Joe Brunner and Riley Mahlman have a combined 138 career starts.
Allar’s allure
Penn State’s Drew Allar is coming off a three-interception performance against USC, but that was a bit of an anomaly. Allar had been picked off just once in Penn State’s first five games this season.
Allar has thrown for 40 touchdowns and only six interceptions in 595 career passes. Since 1956, Allar is the only FBS quarterback who has attempted at least 500 passes and has thrown for at least 40 touchdowns while getting picked off no more than six times.
Allar now faces a Wisconsin defense that has allowed just 3.9 yards per pass attempt in October. That’s the lowest number for any FBS defense this month.
Dueling defenses
Wisconsin has allowed just one touchdown during its winning streak. The Badgers’ defense has made major strides since getting picked apart in a 42-10 loss to Alabama and a 38-21 loss at USC.
Penn State ranks sixth among all FBS teams in yards allowed per game (262.5) and 12th in yards allowed per play (4.51).
Slumping kicker
Wisconsin’s Nathanial Vakos has gone 0 for 2 on field-goal attempts in the last two games, missing a 35-yarder and getting a 41-yard attempt blocked. Although Vakos is 2 of 2 from at least 50 yards out this season, he’s only 1 of 5 from 30-49 yards away.
Penn State’s Ryan Barker unseated Sander Sahaydak as the Nittany Lions’ main kicker and has gone 6 of 6 on field-goal attempts. He won the USC game with a 36-yard field goal in overtime.
