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Wisconsin Badgers at Penn State Nittany Lions

Sep 26, 20264:00 PM CTUniversity Park, PA
By JR·2 min read
Wisconsin BadgersWIS(2-1)
Penn State Nittany Lions#13 PSU(3-0)
AT
4:00 PM CT

TLDR: Penn State rolls into Saturday's Big Ten opener unbeaten and ranked; Wisconsin is still trying to figure out who it is after a brutal season-opening gut check.

SAT SEP 26, 4:00 PM CT
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WIN
Total
Wisconsin
(2-1)
WWLLW
#13 Penn State
(3-0)
WWWWW
Kickoff68°12 mph
Wisconsin
  • Blew out Eastern Michigan 54-10 with Joseph's 4-TD day
  • Henry set the program's single-game catches record
  • Opened the year with a 41-13 loss to No. 4 Notre Dame
  • Starting lineman Mandell still out since fall camp
Penn State
  • 3-0 with wins by a combined 100-plus points
  • Becht efficient in every start, no red flags
  • Hasn't played a ranked or Power Four opponent yet
  • Beat reporters flag thin O-line depth behind the starters

The last time Wisconsin took the field against a ranked opponent, it got run off the field at Lambeau Field, falling 41-13 to No. 4 Notre Dame in the season opener. Colton Joseph has been better since — he threw for 362 yards and accounted for 4 total touchdowns in a 54-10 blowout of Eastern Michigan, with Tyrell Henry setting a program single-game receptions record in that win. Rocco Becht hasn't had to survive anything like that yet; his toughest test so far was a 27-9 road win at Temple, and he's been efficient in all three Penn State wins without needing to be spectacular.

Joseph played through a nagging injury from that Notre Dame game and looked fully healthy by Week 3, which matters against a Penn State defense that hasn't been forced to answer a competent passing attack yet — Marshall, Temple and Buffalo aren't walking through that door. Wisconsin's bigger problem up front is starting lineman Emerson Mandell, out since fall camp, while Penn State's own beat writers have flagged the Nittany Lions' offensive line depth as thin behind the starting five. Neither trench is fully healthy, which is the kind of thing a market this lopsided hasn't had much reason to price.

Penn State's three wins have come by a combined 100 points and change, which is exactly the kind of season-opening cupcake stretch that makes a -9.5 number look more like a formality than a debate. Wisconsin is the one team in this game that's actually been hit in the mouth by a ranked opponent this year, and how it answers that memory on the road says more about this season than anything in the first three weeks did.

Wisconsin Badgers
(2-1)
09/19WvsEastern Michigan54-10
09/12WvsWestern Illinois36-9
09/06L@#3 Notre Dame13-41
11/29L@Minnesota7-17
11/23WvsIllinois27-10
#13 Penn State Nittany Lions
(3-0)
09/19WvsBuffalo55-13
09/12W@Temple27-9
09/05WvsMarshall45-0
12/27W@Clemson22-10
11/29W@Rutgers40-36

Beaver Stadium in late September isn't the White Out yet, but a home sellout against a Big Ten opponent still means something for a Penn State team that's spent three weeks beating up on overmatched non-conference filler. This is the first game all year where the building's energy actually has to translate into a scoreboard against a team that hits back.

Wisconsin Badgers
(3)
  • QuestionableD. O'Neil (QB) — O'Neil is managing with a lower body injury, and it has yet to be determined if he will be active against Eastern MI on Saturday, September 19th.09/13
  • OutM. Coleman (WR) — Coleman is managing an undisclosed injury, and he is not expected to be active against Eastern MI on Saturday, September 19th.09/19
  • OutJ. Domingeaux (WR) — Domingeaux is tending to an undisclosed injury, and he is not expected to be active against Eastern MI on Saturday, September 19th.09/19
#13 Penn State Nittany Lions
(3)
  • QuestionableG. Burkle (TE) — Burkle is nursing with a knee injury, and it is unknown if he will face Buffalo on Saturday, September 19th.09/12
  • OutNewK. Howard (WR) — Howard is tending to an undisclosed injury, and there is no timetable for recovery.09/23
  • OutM. Granville (DL) — Granville has been shut down for the remainder of the season with an undisclosed injury.09/12

Wisconsin's issue isn't talent, it's whether the version that torched Eastern Michigan or the one that got run over by Notre Dame shows up on the road against a ranked team with a healthy quarterback and three weeks of rhythm behind him. Penn State has faced nothing all season that a fully healthy Colton Joseph, if that's who arrives, can't at least make uncomfortable.

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