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Series History Since 1950
Overall Series Record: Wisconsin leads 5-3
Longest Wisconsin winning streak: 3 (1953-1995)
Longest Penn State winning streak: 2 (1996-97)
Best Wisconsin "run": Wisconsin defeated Penn State 3 straight times between '53 and '95.
Best Penn State "run": Penn State beat Wisconsin back to back in '96 and '97.
Wisconsin record when favored: 2-0
Penn State record when favored: 3-2
Tossup games: Wisconsin leads 1-0
Biggest Wisconsin upset: #41 Wisconsin upset #11 Penn State 17-9 in 1995.
Biggest Penn State upset: Penn State has never upset Wisconsin.
Most important game: #4 Wisconsin beat #15 Penn State 24-3 in 1998 to clinch a Rose Bowl berth.
Least meaningful game: #65 Wisconsin upsets the #35 Nits 29-16 in 1970.
Biggest Wisconsin blowout: Wisconsin defeats Penn State 24-3 in 1998.
Biggest Penn State blowout: Penn State blasts Wisconsin 35-10 in 1997.
October 4, 2003
Penn State Season Preview
Analysis of Badgermaniac's Keys to the Game
Not big issue. Wisconsin was forced to attempt two field goals in the first half after reaching scoring position, but made up for it with a big TD on 3rd and long just before halftime. The offense was not hitting on all cylinders, but they put up enough points in the opportunities provided.
As expected, Wisconsin ran the ball well, especially in the second half when they ran for nearly 200 yards. Penn State made some adjustments and tried to load up the front with a lot of activity, but Wisconsin's OL handled it.
Wisconsin did a great job of keeping Robinson in the pocket. When he wasn't in the pocket, they still had good containment on him. He did hurt them more through the air than most people expected.
It wasn't the prettiest game, but getting two road wins to start the Big Ten season is just huge as they approach the meat of their schedule. They continued their dominance on the ground, and the defense did a nice job of making the Lions one-dimensional. While there are still inconsistencies, at least both the offense and defense have something to hold their hats on.
Robinson and Penn State's passing game took me by great surprise, but the rest of the game went much as I expected. I would say 31-21 was a pretty good prediction.
Badgermaniac's Keys to the Game
Wisconsin has moved the ball well this year, but hasn't been as efficient at punching the ball in ((or maximizing their yards if you will) when
given the chance (#26 total offense/#36 scoring offense), while PSU has done a nice job of "outachieving" its total defense (#44 total defense/#27 scoring defense). Wisconsin must be effective in the red-zone.
Wisconsin has really put things together on the ground the last few weeks as their offensive line looks to have jelled. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions' rush defense has been a sieve at times. If PSU wants to make it a game, they are going to have to control the return of Anthony Davis and the rest of the Badger rushing attack.
Robinson isn't much of a thrower, but he is a big physical athletic quarterback who can cause problems on the ground and with broken plays. Wisconsin does not necessarily need to put a ton of pressure on Robinson, but I feel they do need to contain him and keep him in the pocket. When he does break contain or is running the ball on a designed run, the Badger linebackers must make the sure tackles to prevent the big play, something they have not always done this year.
Wisconsin finally put together four solid quarters last week and looks to be the favorite on paper against a struggling Penn State team. However, whatever margin exists between the two teams isn't enough to withstand an inconsistent effort, a flat performance, and/or a peak ahead at the Buckeyes next week. This team is setting itself up nicely entering the much anticipated matchup next week, but they need to keep their momentum going.
Unlike last week where I thought Illinois posed some matchup problems with the Badgers, I think they match-up very well with Penn State. There is little reason to believe that the Lions will be able to contain the Badger ground game and without a solid passing attack, it plays into Wisconsin's hand. I see a solid (though unspectacular) victory....31-21.
The Line Says...
Sagarin has the Badgers as a 1 point favorite. Howell has Wisconsin as a 2.5 point favorite and a
55% chance of emerging victorious. His algorithm projects the score to be 25-22.
NCAA Stat Rankings
Here is how the two teams rank in terms of NCAA stats:
Rushing Offense: WIS 9, PSU 30
October 5, 2002
Analysis of Badgermaniac's Keys to the Game
Penn State made a noticable shift in defensive philosophy byt focusing on Anthony Davis and the Badger running game. They played some
eight man front, but also got excellent penetration from their defensive tackles.
The Badgers had the Tucker interception that went for six, but needed at least one more to pull the game out. Penn State was secure
with the ball, and when they did put it out there for the taking (fumble by the goal line and potential interception that was dropped after
a collision), Wisconsin could not capitalize.
Wisconsin was very conscious of the screen plays, which may have limited their aggressiveness in attacking Mills. The ironic thing is that
the Lions were still able to hit on a couple.
The deep middle was open, but the pass protection was so poor, Bollinger could not consistently exploit this potential weakness.
No sweat. Penn State came out early and dictated tempo and control.
No surprise on my end from Mills. The difference was Wisconsin's supposed advantage was a clear advantage for Penn State.
Badgermaniac's Keys to the Game
Last year, Penn State chose to sit back and defend Evans and the Badger passing game which allowed Bollinger and the Badger
offensive line to gash the Nittany Lions for big yards on the ground. What will PSU look to take away first this year and
how will the Badgers react? Will we see the return of the UW option game? Without a healthy Evans, will PSU respect the Badger
deep ball to the same degree? How many will PSU put in the box?
Wisconsin has dominated the turnover margin stat all season long. However, PSU has also been very secure with the ball. How will
the Badgers react without a big advantage in this regard? Or, can the Badger continue their dominance here?
Penn State has displayed an explosive and wide open offensive arsenal this year. Two of their most potent weapons have been the middle
screen to Larry Johnson and finding ways to get Michael Robinson open in space. To defend these combustible elements while still
defending old standbys like the option, the Badgers must be aggressive, yet patient and assignment secure on defense. Can their
relatively young outside linebackers hold containment while still flowing to the ball?
Penn State is battered at the safety position. Look for Wisconsin to try to run some play
action post routes to take advantage of this weakness by attacking the deep middle of the field over the top.
Penn State has not played a game on the road, and faces what figures to be a jacked up Badger crowd. How will they respond?
I think Penn State offers the Badgers their sternest test on defense this year. Zack Mills creates many of the same kinds of
problems that a QB like Brooks Bollinger does. Penn State also has the playmakers to compliment Mills. Wisconsin's advantage looks
to be in the lineplay, and they must control the line of scrimmage, especially on defense, to allow their back 7 to hang in there. I think
Wisconsin will do a good job of controlling the PSU option attack, but they must not allow Mills a lot of 3rd and short situations where
he can be dangerous. On the other side of the ball, I think Wisconsin can put up some solid offensive numbers against a suspect PSU defense. I like
the Badgers this week as Bollinger has a big game, 35-24.
The Line Says...
Sagarin has Wisconsin as a 5 point favorite. Howell has the Badgers as a 12 point favorite with
a 70% chance of winning and a projected score of 31-19.
NCAA Stat Rankings
Here is how the two teams rank in terms of NCAA stats:
Rushing Offense: WIS 46, PSU 35
Individually...
Anthony Davis is 28th in rushing yards per game.
Larry Johnson is 22nd in rushing yards per game, 5th in scoring, 77th in kickoff returns, and 78th in receptions per game.
September 22, 2001
Here are the Game Grades:
QB: B+
RB:A-
WR/TE: B
Also of note was the downfield blocking. On more than one of Davis' mid-ragne runs, it was apparent that the Badger wideouts had totally
taken their PSU defender out of the play.
OL: B
The pass blocking was fair. PSU notched only one sack though most of that was because of the limited attempts. Bollinger also had to evade
some pressure a number of times by using his escapability.
DL: A
Wendell Bryant and Delante McGrew were all over the field and PSU had trouble with the Badger speed on the edge.
LB: B-
Jeff Mack was once again the guilty culprit on the blown coverage that resulted in the TD as he froze on the PSU play action.
DB: B
PSU went at Starks hard, and he generally held up well.
Of note were 2 offensive interference calls, calls that are not made without proper defensive positioning.
Special Teams: C
Espinoza did a pretty solid job on his kickoffs with regard to positioning and the coverage units were good.
Wisconsin did not punt, nor was Nick Davis a factor thanks to excellent PSU punting.
Analysis of Badgermaniac's Keys to the Game:
1.) QB consistency
2.) 60 minutes of football
3.) Controlling the run
4.) 4 yards in a cloud of dust
PREDICTION:
Here are Badgermaniac's Keys to the Game
1.) QB consistency
2.) 60 minutes of football
3.) Controlling the run
4.) 4 yards in a cloud of dust
PREDICTION:
Here is how the Badgers and Nittany Lions compare:
Total offense: WIS 24, PSU 56
Defensive stats not yet available.
Sagarin has Penn State as an 3 point favorite. Howell has Wisconsin as a 0.5 point favorite with a 51% chance of winning. His
projected score is Wisconsin 24-Penn State 23.
November 21, 1998
Here are the game grades for the Rose Bowl clinching win over Penn State last Saturday.
QB: B
In the passing game, while the numbers were quite poor, he was able to at least prove that the Badger passing game was going to be a threat if need be.
Only one of his passes were absolutely poor (his first throw into the turf), though only 3 were what I would call good throws. The TD throw to Chambers and the streak down the sideline, also to Chambers were things of beauty. Although there were a few other shaky passes, he was victimized somewhat by some drops, and a few times he did have to throw the ball away due to pressure.
I was very happy with his composure in the pocket. He ran when he needed to, and hung in there when he needed to.
RB: A-
Dayne and Martin also did a tremendous job in blitz pick up all day (although Faulkner really fanned once against Arrington).
However, what really impressed me was Dayne's toughness. After watching the tape, it was apparent that he was really hurting, yet still managed to gut the game out. He was still effective, and also managed to hang onto the ball even with the injury.
Martin was his usual solid self, providing several key lead blocks late in the game.
WR: C
The receivers DID do a good job of run blocking, providing several key blocks downfield contributing to big plays. Nick Davis had a very key block on a Samuel run at a key moment in the game which the announcers correctly pointed out.
TE:B+
With blocking being the primary responsibility of the TE in the Badger offense, Eric Grams played an excellent game.
OL: B
Overall, the offensive line played well. The pass blocking was very solid, especially considering the multiple blitzes the Lions threw at the Badgers. Only once all game was there what I considered poor pass protection.
The run blocking was a bit shakier, primarily due to the 8 man fronts employed by Penn State. Even with these fronts, the Badger OL graded out at 25% excellent, 50% ok, and 25% poor. 75% solid blocking is a solid grade against a talented defense.
Surprisingly, the OL player of the game in my mind was Dave Costa who played his best game of the year. He only had a significant problem on one play all day when he seemed to have trouble finding his blocking assignment in space. On the other hand, he contributed a couple of nice pulls, a super influence block, a few good drive blocks, and a good downfield block (which you don't see all the time from him). He was able to lock up his man much more effectively than I have seen from him all season. Nice job Dave!
Aaron Gibson was solid as well. I may take him for granted, but he contributed his normal array of devastating lead blocks on the outside.
Casey Rabach was solid, often getting lost in the shuffly inside, but rarely blowing an assignment.
McIntosh was super early, and quiet late. Still, a quiet LT is the best kind to have.
Bill Ferrario had the worst game of the OLmen in my mind. He had trouble sustaining his block on more than a couple plays, though he did get better as the game went along.
DL:A-
Many of the PSU holes were early in the game, when the OL did a good job of locking up Kolodziej and Mahlik inside to create some seams so that the fullback could put a helmet on the run filling linebacker. As the game progressed however, the LBs were able to run free a bit more and able to make plays.
Burke managed 4 sacks, and constant pressure on Thompson and Casey. He simply would not be denied. What made Burke's performance all the more impressive, is that he was playing on a sprained ankle, and that he was going up against first team All-Big Ten tackle Floyd Wedderburn for much of the game. (How he beat out Gibson I still haven't figured out).
I though Ross Kolodziej really played well also, especially later in the game (Badger DT rotation paying off???), as he was able to get periodic pressure from the tackle spot on pass attempts, and solid penetration against the run.
Mahlik did a nice job also getting off blocks and making plays as the game went along, making a great swipe of the ball carrier, causing the fumble at midfield.
Chris Janek also saw some action (been a while) and made a few nice penetrating plays.
Favret displayed excellent pursuit, especially in short yardage where he was able to slip some blocks and clog up the play. His pass rush was a little lacking. He could be facing the late season wear down, just as he did last season, though certainly it hasn't affected his run defense to a great degree.
Sam Mueller also made a heck of a stick on one of the 3rd and shorts.
LB: B
In general, the linebackers seemed to play the underneath zone a little soft, though they were quick to close on the receiver and limit the yards after catch. Given the lack of a blazer at this position, this might be wise. Donell Thompson did make a nice flow in his zone to deflect a pass intended for the TE over the middle.
After getting locked up by blockers early in the game, the LBers were able to roam free as the defensive line asserted dominance, which allowed them to fill the gaps and make the plays.
Dan Lisowski made a big play on the first drive when he got great penetration and a TFL.
DB: B
Taking the positive first, the coverage was pretty solid all day long, with 0 blown coverages as near as I could tell. Even on many completions, the coverage was there. Still, a better QB would have had a couple of hits with excellent throws, most notably on a fly pattern where the receiver was about 4 yards beyond Fletcher.
Jamar Fletcher displayed his great closing speed on more than one occasion, with the big one being the deflection in the end zone. He was a bit soft by his own standards on a few of the underneath throws. He also didn't look back on the one incompletion in the endzone that could have been caught. His tackling though was good. Penn State went after him more than any other team has, and Jamar held up well.
Leonard Taylor missed a tackle early, but gave solid run support late in the game.
Doering was....well...Doering, cleaning up any run plays that actually made it beyond 5 yards of the line of scrimmage.
Special Teams: A
Davenport was fine. He missed the 52 yarder which is just beyond his range. I was surprised Alvarez didn't have Pisetsky kick it, which is what he has always said he would do if faced with that scenario.
Nick Davis provided THE spark to the game with his electrifying return for the score.
Dontae King was a demon on special teams, recovering a fumble and making a devastating block on Davis' return.
Other than the aforementioned return, the coverage teams were ok.
Although they were not perfect, the fumble, TD return, and great punting equals an "A" in my book.
Here is how Badgermaniac's Keys to the Game turned out:
1. Non-offensive offense
2. LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short
3. Chris Ghidorzi
4. Rattle Thompson early
5. Play with confidence
6. NOISE!!!!!!!
Here are Badgermaniac's Keys to the Game:
1. Non-offensive offense
2. LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short
3. Chris Ghidorzi
4. Rattle Thompson early
5. Play with confidence
6. NOISE!!!!!!!
PREDICTION:
Return to Game Previews/Reviews Page
Penn State Depth Chart
Penn State Stats
Analysis of Badgermaniac's Prediction
Badgermaniac's Prediction
Passing Offense: WIS 60, PSU 105
Passing Efficiency: WIS 48, PSU 114
Total Offense: WIS 26, PSU 82
Scoring Offense: WIS 36, PSU 92
Rushing Defense: WIS 35, PSU 106
Passing Defense: WIS 57, PSU 1
Passing Efficiency Defense: WIS 35, PSU 10
Total Defense: WIS 35, PSU 44
Scoring Defense: WIS 65, PSU 27
Turnover Margin: WIS 77, PSU 105
Net Punting: WIS 71, PSU 50
Punt Returns: WIS 24, PSU 64
Kickoff Returns: WIS 113, PSU 109
My Prediction
My Prediction
Passing Offense: WIS 69, PSU 31
Passing Efficiency: WIS 28, PSU 16
Total Offense: WIS 64, PSU 16
Scoring Offense: WIS 55, PSU 18
Rushing Defense: WIS 55, PSU 53
Passing Defense: WIS 64, PSU 107
Passing Efficiency Defense: WIS 18, PSU 78
Total Defense: WIS 54, PSU 96
Scoring Defense: WIS 18, PSU 48
Turnover Margin: WIS 1, PSU 15
Brooks Bollinger is 34th in passing efficiency and 66th in total offense.
Jonathan Orr is 72nd in receptions per game and 39th in receiving yards per game.
Jim Leonard is 4th in interceptions per game and 41st in punt returns.
BJ Tucker is 18th in interceptions per game.
RJ Morse is 79th in punting average.
Scott Campbell is 92nd in field goals per game.
Zack Mills is 15th in passing efficiency and 16th in total offense.
Bryant Johnson is 21st in receptions per game, 48th in punt returns, and 11th in receiving yards per game.
Tony Johnson is 75th in receiving yards per game.
Royer is 27th in punting average.
Michael Robinson is 58th in scoring.
Gould is 40th in field goals per game and 72nd in scoring.
Bollinger controlled the tempo of the game and kept drives alive with big 3rd down runs. He also threw the ball
pretty well, though most of his attempts were of the very short variety. An underrated throw was his toss to the endzone
which resulted in a pass interference call against Lee Evans. At times, Bollinger did bolt the pocket a bit too early, though
on the TV screen it was hard to determine what was open downfield.
I felt this was Anthony Davis' best game as a Badger (though not because of his career high in yards). Davis was patient in waiting
for his holes to open, but retained his explosion through the hole. He cut well and finished his runs by lowering his pads.
PSU chose to take away Lee Evans and see whether the Badgers could counter. This limited the Badgers home run opportunities, though
the receivers did generally play well. Davis, Anelli, and Charles found the soft spots underneath in the zones and came up big on a
number of 3rd down conversions.
The most consistent effort of the season from the OL as a whole. They opened up solid and consistent holes, especially on the perimeter which
allowed Davis to slide into a hole and then bounce it outside. Buenning had some trouble with all-conference player Jimmy Kennedy and they once
again had some trouble on short yardage plays.
Outstanding performance from the defensive line. First and foremost, other than one solid McCoo run, they took away the PSU power running game.
Down nor distance mattered as Wisconsin simply did not allow PSU to get into flexible play calls.
Take away one key play, and the linebackers played reasonably well. Nick Greisen was his usual steady self and the staff did a nice
job of mixing up his calls, rushing him on one play and dropping him into coverage on the next.
Hard to grade given the ineptness of the PSU QBs. There were a couple of receivers running free but the PSU QB duo could not connect.
Mike Allen seemed out of rhythm on his kicks, missing 3 kicks overall (2 blocked) as he was slow out of his stance.
Bollinger continuously made plays on 3rd down, and while his game wasn't spectacular, he brought stability and consistency to the position.
On the other side of the field, Wisconsin's pressure rendered PSU's QB duo totally ineffective.
Mission accomplished. 60 minutes of dominance, much greater than the score would indicate.
No problem here. One draw late in the first half was about all PSU was able to achieve. Surprisingly, PSU did not attempt
to establish the run.
While there were still some troubles in short yardage situations, Wisconsin's OL was able to gash Penn State right up the middle
with Anthony Davis for their most impressive rushing performance of the year.
Well, my analysis of the game wasn't all that great. I did not forsee the whipping Wisconsin's DL was able to put on PSU's offensive
line. Wisconsin should have put more points on the board, but the game was not as close as I thought it would be.
Both teams have question marks at quarterback. How will Bollinger respond the layoff? How will Sorgi respond to the bad half against
Fresno? Does Senneca have the ability to make good reads and throws? Can Mills succeed despite limited experience? Whichever team gets
consistent QB play will have a huge leg up.
The Badgers have played spells of top notch football this season, only to be followed by mental lapses and key mistakes...typical of a young
team. However, sitting at 1-2 it is time for this team to grow up and show some consistency for four quarters.
Penn State is of the traditional line up and run the ball right at you mold, which is a shift from what the Badgers have seen the last couple of
games. Penn State features 245 tailback Omar Easy and a relatively experienced (in age if not starting experience) offensive line. Wisconsin meanwhile
showed some vulnerability up the middle against the run against Fresno State. PSU will look to keep the pressure off of their QB's
by attempting to establish the run. Wisconsin has traditionally held up well against these types of teams, but as we have found out this
Badger team is far from traditional.
Defensive tackles Anthony Adams (290 pounds) and Jimmy Kennedy (330) are above average anchors inside, going against two redshirt
freshmen Badger guards in Buenning and Barrett. Wisconsin has also not generated a consistent interior rushing attack. Expect Wisconsin to
run wide a lot in an attempt to isolate the questionable PSU linebackers in space, but they still need to establish those 4-6 yard runs in the middle
to keep the chains moving.
Nothing fancy in the game keys for this one, just good old fashioned hard-nosed football with the winner being determined by who controls the line of
scrimmage and who makes the least mistakes. I am still skeptical that Wisconsin will generate much interior running, and I also believe that PSU will
have some success running against the Badgers. However, I believe Wisconsin has a solid edge at QB, as both of Bollinger and Sorgi have proven that
they can be playmakers, something the Lion duo has not (though I liked Senneca last year in limited exposure). Look for this one to be tight entering
the 4th quarter, with Wisconsin making some big plays against a marginal PSU secondary. Wisconsin wins it late 27-21.
Passing offense: WIS 35, PSU 28
Rushing offense: WIS 26, PSU 66
Scoring offense: WIS 35, PSU 78
Samuel was one of the keys to the game in my estimation. He was the key running threat for Wisconsin, especially early before the line started picking up their play. Not only was he very effective on the option keepers, he managed a few nice scrambles, and ran the QB draw effectively, often on 3rd down. He had some nice cutbacks and was able to even break a few tackles.
Some might be surprised at this grade, seeing as how Dayne's raw numbers were his worst of the year other than the Michigan game. However, he really did shine in this game. He was aggressive hitting holes, even when the hole closed so fast a good rush was impossible. He hit the seams hard and showed good explosiveness to the outside when available. He broke a fair amount of tackles, and showed some nice shiftiness, especially late in the game.
Although none were blatantly poor, the WRs did manage to drop a few catchable balls. Although it would have been a nice catch, Chambers dropped one in the endzone that he normally will snag. Chambers later redeemed himself with a super grab for the TD.
But Badgermaniac, the TEs didnt' catch a pass???!!! No they didn't, but this was the best game from the TEs all season in my estimation. Eric Grams was super with his blocking. Not once did I find a blown block on his part leading to a defensive stop. On the other hand, he had 4 or 5 very nice seal blocks on the outside and 2 or 3 excellent blocks downfield on long runs.
The first thing to consider when grading the offensive line is that Penn State has an outstanding defensive line and linebacking corps, thereby severely hampering an offensive lines' ability to dominate.
Tom Burke was phenomenal once again, and the rest of the crew turned in a nice performance. In the raw numbers, they stuffed the run about 40% of the time (despite a slow start in the first quarter), were adequate about 40% of the time, and were handled by PSU about 20% of the time. The pass rush was not dominant, but fairly consistent and disruptive, getting great pressure about a third of the time, and solid pressure another third.
No huge plays from the linebackers, though they were pretty sure in their tackling and in their assigments, which is the key in this defensive scheme.
Although they were solid, I think there were some areas to improve upon.
Stemke was dominant yet again, averaging nearly 50 years per punt with super hang time (with the exception of his first punt, which was very long, but a bit low, outkicking the coverage and allowing a big return).
Answered in spades. The special teams provided the spark, and Mike Samuel and Chris Chambers came through with some key plays, giving the defense the breathing room it thrives on to really put the screws to the opposing offense.
Although they had their occasional moments, especially with some aggressive run blitzing, they were not allowed to make any huge game turning plays. The Penn State pass rush was also neutralized, allowing the aforementioned Samuel/Chambers hooks ups.
Whether it was Ghidorzi or some other facet of the defense (or a little of both), the run defense was night and day from Michigan. The Nittany Lions had some yards (though about 50 of them came in the last few plays of the game), but McCoo was kept from the long game turning runs.
Again, whether it was the defensive pressure, the big crowd, or simply Thompson's lack of talent, he certainly was throttled by the Badger defense and never came close to getting into a rhythm.
The senior leadership was outstanding. This group of players was not going to be denied their second chance. Not only did they play with emotion, but it was tempered emotion, the best kind IMO.
There have been louder games in the last 20+ years, but never one with such unbridled enthusiasm. I am still hoarse.
Somehow, Wisconsin is going to need to generate some offense against a defense that has been pretty good all year. Their only real weakness has been that some teams have been able to throw the ball against them, clearly not our forte. Whether it be special teams, defense, or god forbid the offense, we need to put some points on the board....SOMEHOW!
These PSU linebackers are simply outstanding. Not only must Wisconsin keep them out of the backfield on run blitzes, but also on the pass rush as well. This isn't even getting into the outstanding defensive ends (Scioli and Brown).
With RB Eric McCoo, a home run threat, it is vital that Ghidorzi shore up some of the holes we saw last week against Mighigan. Wisconsin cannot surrender 2 or 3 big plays to McCoo, and he is certainly capable.
The PSU QB has been rattled at times this year when under pressure. In fact some PSU fans have gone far enough to suggest that Wisconsin has the edge at QB. Getting Thompson off his game early, possibly forcing turnovers, will be key for Wisconsin.
Although outclassed talent wise (thereby making things seem worse than they were), it didn't appear that Wisconsin played with confidence against the Wolverines. The Badgers need to get more of that swagger that allows them to believe in themselves when things go south for the moment.
Let's rock Camp Randall and pave the way for a Rose Bowl berth. No more to be said.
I really don't like the mathup of Wisconsin's offense against a very fast and tough Penn State
defense, and once again, I see a lot of offensive futility. However, I think the Badger defense
can also contain the Nittany Lion offense, which puts this game as a low scoring nailbiter,
with turnovers and field position playing key roles. In short, no different than the way the
Badgers have played all year.