Two brand-new coaching staffs, two brand-new quarterback rooms, and a Big Ten crossover that could swing either program's season — Wisconsin heads into Beaver Stadium against a Penn State team that looks nothing like the one it remembers.
Bush’s Picks
WISPSU
WISPSU
OverUnder
Best BetPenn State
Penn State gets the benefit of the doubt here mostly because Rocco Becht is a proven commodity and Colton Joseph, for all his tools, still isn't. Wisconsin's offense was a wreck for most of 2025, and there's no guarantee a change at quarterback alone flips that against Big Ten defenses. Back the Nittany Lions to win outright while Campbell's new machine is still finding its footing at home.
Wisconsin
+Colton Joseph brings proven dual-threat production from ODU
+33 transfer portal additions bolster the roster
+Much easier 2026 schedule sets up a bounce-back
−2025 offense ranked bottom-5 nationally in scoring
−Fickell squarely on the hot seat entering the year
−Joseph's decision-making still unproven at Big Ten level
Penn State
+Rocco Becht brings 39 career starts, 26 wins
+Matt Campbell overhaul brought in 55 new players
+Schedule sets up PSU as favorite in most games
−Massive roster turnover breeds real chemistry questions
−Becht still working back from offseason shoulder surgery
−Brand-new staff with zero in-season track record yet
This is Matt Campbell's Penn State now, built around Rocco Becht, the Iowa State transfer he brought with him after James Franklin's messy midseason firing. Becht arrives with 39 career starts and 26 wins, the kind of experience no other Big Ten quarterback can match. Across the field, Wisconsin counters with Colton Joseph, the Old Dominion transfer and reigning Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year who's supposed to finally fix a Badgers offense that had nowhere to go but up.
Becht spent the spring rehabbing surgery on his non-throwing shoulder and was limited in live reps, so Penn State's staff is still connecting dots on exactly how sharp he'll look once the lights are on. Joseph, for his part, threw for 2,624 yards and ran for 1,007 more last season, but doing that against Sun Belt competition and doing it against a Big Ten front seven are two very different tests. Both quarterbacks are walking into first-year systems, which tends to keep oddsmakers cautious early in the year.
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The scale of roster change on both sidelines is the real story here. Penn State turned over more than half its roster, adding 55 new players — 24 of them Becht's old Iowa State teammates. Wisconsin wasn't far behind, bringing in 33 transfers of its own. Neither program is walking in with much institutional chemistry, which is exactly the kind of setup that keeps a line from moving too far in either direction.
Wisconsin Badgers
Sep 19?vs Eastern Michigan—
Sep 12?vs Western Illinois—
Sep 6?@ Notre Dame—
Penn State Nittany Lions
Sep 19?vs Buffalo—
Sep 12?@ Temple—
Sep 5?vs Marshall—
Recent form.
Stakes-wise, this one means more to Wisconsin than the record will initially suggest. Luke Fickell is coaching with his job on the line — ESPN has him among the hottest seats in the country — and the 2026 schedule was built to give him a runway to prove it with wins, not moral victories. Penn State, meanwhile, is just trying to figure out who it is under Campbell, with a manageable slate that has the Nittany Lions favored in most of their games this fall.
Wisconsin Badgers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Penn State Nittany Lions
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Neither fan base really knows what they're getting yet, which is what makes this one worth watching. A Badgers offense that spent 2025 buried near the bottom of the country in scoring now has a quarterback capable of erasing that overnight — or not. Penn State has the more accomplished passer and the freshest buzz, but 55 new faces don't gel in a few weeks of fall camp. Whoever solves their own new-look roster faster probably wins this one.
