Playtime is over, folks.

Penn State football has wrapped up non-conference play and is setting its sights on the Wisconsin Badgers for Matt Campbell’s Big Ten opener.

While the plethora of Penn State’s Iowa State transfers will get their first taste of Big Ten football, so will a familiar face in the Wisconsin backfield: former Cyclone running back Abu Sama III.

“Abu’s a really good friend of mine. I know I was just on the phone with him a week or two ago, still talk to him and in contact with him. He’s a great player,” linebacker Kooper Ebel said Tuesday.

Ebel and Sama were both Iowa State freshmen in 2023 and grew up in the program together until their departures after the 2025 season. They will meet again on the gridiron on Saturday, but it will be against each other for the first time ever.

Ebel’s been off to a strong start in his Nittany Lion career, but Sama has also turned heads in the Big Ten space.

Sama tallied 107 yards and one touchdown on just eight carries in the Badgers’ Week 2 win over Western Illinois. The senior running back snagged 49 yards in his Wisconsin debut against Notre Dame, but did not play in Week 3 as a precaution to a minor arm injury.

“He’s got the ability to make you pay in space and physical, can hit a home run on every run,” Campbell said Tuesday. “I feel like everybody’s kind of got the same mantra in that running back room. I think globally, what they’ve done a great job offensively in tailor-making that offense around their playmakers, and been really impressed with what you’ve seen in three games.”

Penn State’s defensive Iowa State transfers aren’t the only ones who know Sama well, though. Rocco Becht was the Cyclones’ starting quarterback for the three years Sama spent in Ames, Iowa. The argument could be made he knows more of Sama’s tendencies than anyone.

Sama’s 72-yard touchdown on Wisconsin’s first play from scrimmage against Western Illinois encapsulated his main traits at running back.

“Abu’s a good player. One of the best athletes I’ve ever seen, but he does like to get to the outside. He gets east and west, and he tried to bounce it outside and get north quick,” Becht said Tuesday. “He’s a strong back. Going to be harder for us on the defensive side to bring him down, but I have so much trust in our defense to go out there and make plays.”

Ebel also noted Sama’s “home-run hitter speed” and his ability to get downhill quickly. It’s going to be a physical test for the Nittany Lions, but Ebel, Caleb Bacon, Cael Brezina, and more former Iowa State guys have an added incentive to wrangle down their former teammate on Saturday.

Wisconsin as a team has rushed for 417 yards and four touchdowns through three games, good for 139 yards per contest. The Badgers’ second-leading rusher total is tied at 89 between backup running back Darrion Dupree and quarterback Colton Joseph.

Joseph, the Old Dominion transfer, has developed into a true threat to the Nittany Lions in open space.

Penn State has allowed 114 rushing yards and one touchdown to opposing quarterbacks this season, a stark contrast from its elite pass defense early on. Temple’s Jaxon Smolik and Ajani Sheppard especially did damage in Week 2.

“Anytime you have a mobile quarterback that you’re playing against, that’s another guy you have to defend, even if it’s a pass. You always got to have eyes on him as a runner,” Ebel said.

The 2025 Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year is flashy. Penn State hasn’t faced flashy yet. It’s going to be a solid litmus test to truly analyze where the Nittany Lion defense stacks up against teams at a similar skill level.

“He’s got elite athletic ability to stretch you in the quarterback run game, and really the running game in general. And yet he’s also a young man that’s dynamic out of the pocket,” Campbell said. “He’s got the ability to make all the throws. What you’ve seen is offensively, they’ve tailor-made it around his skill set.”

Joseph is also a solid foil to Becht. They both transferred into a Big Ten program after having a ton of success at their previous schools and leading them to conference relevance.

Penn State needs to stay on high alert, because Joseph can and will take advantage.

Wisconsin’s two-headed monster of Joseph and Sama is the perfect blend of talent, experience, and familiarity that makes Wisconsin an enticing opening Big Ten matchup for the Nittany Lions.