No. 13 Penn State vs. Wisconsin: Game Preview

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The Nittany Lions open up Big Ten play against the Badgers after a 3-0 start.

Penn State (3-0, 0-0) vs. Wisconsin (2-1, 0-0)

Kickoff: 5 p.m., Beaver Stadium, State College, PA

The Betting Line: Penn State -9.5 (Fanduel)

TV: Peacock, 5 p.m., Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Matt Cassel (analyst), Ashley ShahAhmadi (sideline)

Weather: A nice day with highs in the upper 60s, but a chance of rain around the time of kickoff.

COACHES:

Matt Campbell:

PENN STATE RECORD: 3-0, 1st Year

OVERALL RECORD: 110-70, 15th Year

VS. WISCONSIN: 0-0

Luke Fickell:

WISCONSIN RECORD: 19-22, 4th Year

OVERALL RECORD: 82-47, 11th Year

VS. PENN STATE: 0-2

FUN FACTS

Penn State will be hosting its 106th Homecoming game….the Nittany Lions are 75-25-5 all-time in Homecoming games, and 16-4 in the previous 20 games…Rocco Becht passed the 10,000 career passing yards mark against Buffalo…Safety Marcus Neal became just the fourth Nittany Lion since 1995 with two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in the same game…Penn State is 12-9 all-time against Wisconsin.

WISCONSIN OFFENSE VS. PENN STATE DEFENSE

Badgers quarterback Colton Joseph is similar to many quarterbacks who have come through Madison – solid, but not spectacular. Joseph is completing 63.5% of passes with five touchdowns and two interceptions after his first three games starting for Wisconsin after starting for Old Dominion in ‘24 and ‘25. It’s worth noting that he had a decent outing against Notre Dame, which looks to have perhaps the nation’s top secondary with 217 passing yards and both a touchdown and interception. Joseph was also sacked twice that game, but has remained upright the past two weeks. Joseph also uses his legs quite often, and actually leads the Badgers in rushing attempts after three games.

Many current Nittany Lions are very familiar with Wisconsin’s leading rusher – Iowa State transfer Abu Sama III. Sama was inactive last week due to injury, but is expected to return on Saturday. While Sama struggled to get much of anything going against Notre Dame, averaging 3.3 yards per carry with a long of just seventh yards, he went off for 107 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries against Western Illinois.

Senior receiver Tyrell Henry is a heavy part of the passing game, with nearly three times the amount of receptions that any other Badger. He’s coming off a huge game against Eastern Michigan, where he recorded 14 catches for 160 yards and a score. Chris Brooks Jr. is a big play threat, averaging 21.0 yards a carry and two touchdowns on eight catches.

PENN STATE OFFENSE VS. BUFFALO DEFENSE

The biggest news of the week for Penn State is that wide receiver Koby Howard will be out for an extended time with an injury, beginning this week against Wisconsin. Howard became the breakout star of the offense through the first three games, with 12 catches for 344 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Rocco Becht will have other reliable targets, but losing Howard’s big-play ability is certainly a blow to the offense.

Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen will be the primary targets at receiver, along with freshman Zay Robinson who also had a breakout through the first three games. Tight ends Benjamin Brahmer and Gabe Burkle will also be involved in the passing game, although the Nittany Lions may also be without Andrew Rappleyea.

Rocco Becht has been nothing but reliable since taking over at starting quarterback for Penn State. He has completed just over 70% of passes with nine touchdowns, and has yet to throw an interception.

The running back rotation will be interesting moving forward. Carson Hansen started as the primary back, but Quinton Martin and James Peoples saw their workload increase last week. Martin responded with a 100-yard day, and currently has the highest yards per carry of the group at 6.9.

Penn State’s offensive line will have their hands full with Sebastian Cheeks, an outside linebacker who can come quickly off the edge. He’s already caused two fumbles on sacks this season. Linebacker Cooper Catalano is a rising star who leads the team in tackles and can also make plays in the backfield.

The Badgers defense isn’t overly aggressive, as they prefer to keep things in front of them rather than manufacturing a pass rush. Wisconsin’s defense has three sacks and 11 TFLs as a unit through three games.

Tony Rojas has been playing limited snaps thus far, yet still leads the team in tackles. Zion Tracy may also be unleashed in a full-time role after limited snaps. Like Rojas, Tracy has still been exceptional with 12 tackles, and two pass breakups.

While Wisconsin may not have a lethal passing attack, we should learn more about a secondary that has not been challenged yet. They have the talent and experience to be among the nation’s best, we’ll see what to expect against improved competition.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Wisconsin punter Sean West can easily flip field position. He is averaging 45.5 yards per punt, with a long of 70 yards. Also, three of his seven attempts have been downed inside the 20. Kicker Gavin Lahm has been perfect on the year, hitting all seven attempts with a long of 51 yards.

Penn State’s Zay Robinson has added incredible value as a return man, handling both punts and kickoffs. He uses vision and pure speed to make people miss and then get up field in a hurry. It seems as just a matter of time before Robinson gets his first return touchdown after nearly breaking several attempts thus far.

PREDICTION

Penn State-28, Wisconsin-13

It’s hard to know what to expect from a Penn State team that has looked great, yet remain untested. On the other hand, Wisconsin is still a bit of a mystery. They hung with Notre Dame into the third quarter before eventually falling apart. They also had an extremely slow start against Eastern Michigan before eventually pulling away.

The Nittany Lions seem to have the advantage when you examine how they match up. Penn State has been extremely stingy on defense, and the Badgers may not have the explosiveness to avoid driving the length of the field for points. While the Badgers defense may make things difficult for the Nittany Lions at times, Becht should be able to produce enough throwing to a variety of pass catchers (even without Howard in the lineup), with a reliable running game that seems to be coming into its own. I’m not expecting a blowout, but it should be a satisfying victory with just enough tension to make it inteteresting.

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