The offenses made it look like the first game of the season. Penn State’s offense had 2 (!!) rushing yards and 43 total yards at halftime, and minus-2 (!!) rushing yards through the first three quarters. Wisconsin’s offense turned the ball over three times in Penn State territory. The Nittany Lions missed a 23-yard field goal and an extra point; the Badgers had a 25-yard field-goal try blocked. The teams combined for 13 punts and 11 three-and-outs.
All of those numbers, and the utter lack of offensive rhythm by either preseason top-20 squad, however, also help tell another, perhaps more important story: The defenses did not look like they were playing in the first game of the season. And, in a mild upset, Penn State’s was the defense that carried the day in Saturday’s 16-10 win in Camp Randall.
Wisconsin returned eight starters from a defense that led the conference in yardage allowed and was third in points allowed (albeit in seven games) and, despite inside linebacker Leo Chenal being a late scratch after testing positive for COVID-19, the Badgers lived up to that standard, putting constant pressure on Sean Clifford and his offensive line with a mix of stunts and pressure from various angles and forcing Penn State’s running backs to work hard just to get back to the line of scrimmage.
