Six Key Plays That Doomed Penn State in Week 4 Against Wisconsin

Six Key Plays That Doomed Penn State in Week 4 Against Wisconsin

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Six Key Plays That Doomed Penn State in Week 4 Against Wisconsin
Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht (3) looks to throw a pass against the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht (3) looks to throw a pass against the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

STATE COLLEGE | Penn State looked like it was going to win its Big Ten opener after taking a 17-0 lead over Wisconsin in the second quarter. But the Nittany Lions could never pull away from the Badgers, who erased that deficit for a 24-20 victory at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State had a fourth-quarter collapse, squandering its largest lead since the 39-38 loss to Ohio State in 2017. Wisconsin scored two late touchdowns to upset the Nittany Lions, who made mistakes to allow that to happen.

Penn State committed multiple errors, and Wisconsin made some great plays in its comeback. But these are the six key plays where it all went wrong for Penn State.

3Q 3:53: A Penn State drive that stalled

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht (3) looks to throw a pass against the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht (3) looks to throw a pass against the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Penn State's offense was quiet all day. In fact, the offense's lone touchdown was set up by a Daryus Dixson interception to Wisconsin's 11-yard line in the second quarter.

Despite the lackluster production, the Nittany Lions managed to move the ball to Wisconsin's 24-yard line after quarterback Rocco Becht picked up 19 yards on a key third-down scramble. But this drive stalled out after that.

Running back James Peoples lost five yards on a first-down rush, which Becht followed with a gain of three yards on a keeper. It was third-and-12 at Wisconsin's 26-yard line, but Penn State handed the ball off to Peoples, who was stopped five yards short of the first-down marker.

It was a conservative call that forced the Nittany Lions to settle for a field goal and a 20-10 lead. It also was surprising, since the Nittany Lions already were in Ryan Barker's field-goal range. A more aggressive play could have led the offense to break through and score a touchdown instead.

4Q 15:00: Calling timeout to punt on fourth-and-1

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell looks on from the sideline against the Wisconsin Badgers.
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell looks on from the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Penn State kept its offense on the field on fourth-and-1 at its own 38-yard line to start the fourth quarter. But the Nittany Lions hardly tried to make Wisconsin jump offsides, and Matt Campbell wasted a timeout to put the punt unit on the field.

"I wish we could have went for that 4th-and-1," Peoples said. "There were multiple times in that game where I feel like we could have taken the momentum back, and I can't just single it down to the 4th-and-1. There were plenty of chances."

The decision to punt probably was right, but there was no real reason to call a timeout after the third-quarter break. Penn State might have found that timeout useful on its final offensive series of the fourth quarter.

4Q 8:01: Rocco Becht fumbles snap on second-and-10

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht (3) gestures from the line of scrimmage against the Wisconsin Badgers.
Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht (3) gestures from the line of scrimmage against the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The fourth quarter was already beginning to get ugly for Penn State, but linebacker Tony Rojas gave the offense a real opportunity to close out the win. Rojas intercepted a pass from quarterback Colton Joseph, giving Penn State first-and-10 at its own 45-yard line with 8:09 left in the game.

But after a first-down incompletion (Becht underthrew receiver Brett Eskildsen deep for a potential touchdown), the quarterback fumbled the snap on second-and-10, losing one yard. On third-and-long, Becht threw an incomplete pass for the team's third of four consecutive three-and-out series.

"We left it to chance, and we had so many opportunities to put the game away," Campbell said. "We just didn't take advantage of those opportunities."

The play on which Becht fumbled appeared to be a rush by Peoples, who averaged 4.8 yards per carry and was Penn State's best back in the game. Had Becht handled the snap correctly, Penn State would have had a much better opportunity at keeping the drive alive.

4Q 7:02: Darrion Dupree's 17-yard rush propels a scoring drive

Wisconsin Badgers running back Darrion Dupree (6) runs the ball against the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Wisconsin Badgers running back Darrion Dupree (6) runs the ball during the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With Penn State's offense unable to stay on the field, its defense started to break. It all began with a 17-yard rush by running back Darrion Dupree, who propelled Wisconsin's touchdown drive that cut the lead to 20-17.

Dupree didn't stop there. He picked up 29 yards on three more touches, bringing the Badgers to Penn State's 29-yard line. The Nittany Lions' defense was reeling and allowed a touchdown pass from Joseph on third-and-10 a few plays later.

4Q 1:58: Darrion Dupree converts second-and-19

Wisconsin's game-winning touchdown drive frankly should not have happened. Penn State had the Badgers pinned deep in their own territory with a loud student section behind them.

The Badgers also had committed two straight penalties to set up 2nd-and-19 from their own 6-yard line with just over two minutes left. The drive, and probably the game, should have been close to ending.

And then Dupree made another impactful play, taking a simple checkdown pass from Joseph at the goal line and weaving through traffic for 25 yards and a first down. That play will haunt the Nittany Lions.

4Q 1:24: Jacob Harris completes the comeback

Wisconsin tight end Jacob Harris was wide open after running over safety Marcus Neal Jr., where a case could be made for offensive pass interference. But no flag was thrown, and Joseph completed a pass to Harris around midfield.

The 265-pound Harris outran the rest of the Nittany Lions' chasing secondary, scoring a 72-yard touchdown to give Wisconsin its first lead of the game. The Badgers completed the comeback as Penn State gave away a 17-point lead with miscues in the second half.

"Well, obviously, all's well that ends well," Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/pennstate as Six Key Plays That Doomed Penn State in Week 4 Against Wisconsin.

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