No. 13 Penn State football (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) was upset by Wisconsin (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) 24-20 at Beaver Stadium on Saturday night.

The Nittany Lions led by as much as 17 points, but a putrid second-half showing from their offense allowed Wisconsin to go on a 24-3 run and steal the game.

How It Happened

Zay Robinson fair-caught the opening kickoff, setting up the Nittany Lion offense at the 25-yard line. Carson Hansen took the opening carry for no gain. Rocco Becht found Benjamin Brahmer on back-to-back tosses to move the chains.

Hansen carried again for gains of two and three, setting up 3rd-and-5. Becht looked deep down the right sideline to Brett Eskildsen, but they couldn’t connect, forcing a punt on Penn State’s opening drive.

Nathan Tiyce’s punt was fair-caught at the Wisconsin 8-yard line. Badger quarterback Colton Joseph’s first throw was erased after an offensive pass interference call. On 2-and-11, Joseph fumbled the snap, recovered it, then frantically rushed forward for a loss of one.

On 3rd-and-long, Joseph was flushed out of the pocket, then threw an errant pass to Chris Brooks Jr., prompting a punt back to Penn State, which Robinson slithered up to Wisconsin’s 40-yard line.

To start the blue and white’s second drive, Chase Sowell caught a pass in the flat and bounced off a defender for a 9-yard gain. Brahmer stayed hot with his third grab of the night, going for 19 yards.

The Badgers were called offside, moving Penn State up to the 2-yard line, but Quinton Martin Jr. was knocked back for a loss of one on the next play. Becht’s 3rd-and-4 pass was batted at the line of scrimmage, sending Ryan Barker out to hit a 21-yard field goal and put the Nittany Lions up 3-0.

Joseph hit former Iowa State running back Abu Sama III on a swing route out of the backfield for an 11-yard gain to start the Badgers’ second offensive drive. Armstrong Nnodim and Tony Rojas clogged gaps for stops, bringing up third down, where Jeremiah Cooper broke up a pass from Joseph to Grant Stec to force a punt. Sean West’s boot went 58 yards, backing Penn State up to its own 5-yard line.

Cam Wallace plowed forward on back-to-back carries for just four total yards, but James Peoples checked in and moved the chains on Penn State’s third straight run play. Peoples rushed again, bouncing to the outside for nine yards.

On 2nd-and-1, Becht felt pressure and rolled out of the pocket, looking for Sowell downfield, but the duo failed to hook up. Peoples kept chugging for a chain-moving six yards. Penn State’s passing offense continued its clunky start after Becht missed Gabe Burkle and Robinson on back-to-back plays, resulting in a 39-yard Tiyce punt.

The second quarter began as Joseph found Eugene Hilton Jr., the son of former NFL receiver T.Y. Hilton, for an 18-yard gain. But in the blink of an eye, cornerback Josiah Zayas plucked a swing pass out of the flat and ran it back 56 yards for a pick-six, putting Penn State up 10-0 after a Barker extra point.

The deafening Beaver Stadium crowd moved the Badgers back again due to a false start. Then, Joseph rushed up the middle for a gain of two, followed by an incomplete pass. Joseph saw another ghost, tossing a ball right to Daryus Dixson for an interception that was returned 24 yards to the Wisconsin 11.

Peoples rushed for six on first down, followed by a quarterback draw from Becht to pick up another two. Taylor Mouser dialed up the same concept, resulting in a 3-yard touchdown run for Penn State’s quarterback, his first of the year. The Nittany Lions took a 17-0 lead after Barker’s extra point.

Penn State’s momentum began to boil over after the defense forced a three-and-out. Becht fit a cover-two beater between the corner and safety for a 17-yard gain to Sowell, but the drive immediately stalled.

Wisconsin faced a 3rd-and-7, but converted with a 17-yard run from Sama III, who was slow to get up after being tackled. Backup running back Darrion Dupree entered the game and earned eight hard yards from a stiff arm.

Out of the two-minute warning, Jacob Harris climbed the ladder to reel in a 22-yard pass from Joseph. Two plays later, the signal-caller ran it in from seven yards out to make it 17-7.

Penn State, equipped with three timeouts and 1:18 remaining in the first half, was called for illegal formation to begin the crucial half-closer. Peoples earned back half the yardage needed for a first down, but an incomplete pass to Eskildsen ultimately sent the blue and white into the locker room for halftime.

Wisconsin began the second half at its own 25-yard line. An incomplete pass to Hilton and a textbook downhill tackle by Marcus Neal Jr. put the Badgers behind the sticks on third down, but Joseph found Tyrell Henry to sustain the drive. Penn State’s secondary tightened, as Zayas broke up a boundary pass to force third down, where Joseph sailed a pass to a covered Hilton.

After his defense forced a punt to start the half, disaster struck for Becht after his pass was batted into the air at the line of scrimmage and intercepted, handing the Badgers possession at Penn State’s 22-yard line. The defense held strong, forcing a three-and-out, allowing only a field goal in a short-field situation.

The blue and white offense finally got going after Becht flashed his playmaking skills outside the pocket, finding Sowell for 18 yards. Third-and-long situations kept coming for Penn State, but this time Becht beat the blitz and escaped the pocket for a 19-yard gash on the ground.

However, the roller coaster offense remained, as Peoples was knocked back for a loss of five on first down. The offense couldn’t get back on schedule, forcing Barker to kick a 37-yard field goal and put Penn State up 20-10 with 3:53 left in the third frame.

D’Anton Lynn’s defense forced another three-and-out, giving the Nittany Lions the ball at their own 29-yard line. Another self-inflicted wound came from a false start on Burkle.

Now 1st-and-15, Martin saw a pair of touches go for 10 yards, setting up a 4th-and-1 for Becht and the offense after the third-quarter break. Head-scratchingly, Matt Campbell called a timeout with his offense on the field and opted for a punt after two minutes of paused play.

The Badgers slowly crept up to midfield, but Joseph misread a run-pass option play on third down, forcing a punt back to Penn State. It looked like neither offense wanted to play tonight, as Penn State went three-and-out with under 10 minutes left.

Joseph dropped back and looked for Henry toward the sideline, but Rojas sunk into the zone and snatched the ball for Penn State’s third interception of the night. Unsurprisingly, the blue and white offense went three-and-out while burning just a single minute off the clock.

At last, the Badgers began clawing their way through the Nittany Lion defense with gains of 17, 13, and 10. Inside the red zone, Joseph found Stec for a quick 5-yard hit, but Wisconsin’s PJ Wilkins false-started, moving the offense back five yards.

It didn’t matter. Joseph aired one out to Hilton in the corner of the end zone for a crucial fourth-quarter score that shrunk the 20-17 Penn State lead.

The Nittany Lions regained possession with 3:31 left in the ballgame, rushing Peoples for three yards, and finding Brahmer for another three. On 3rd-and-4, Becht was nearly picked off, forcing yet another punt and handing control of the game to the Badgers.

Audavion Collins broke up a first-down pass play between Joseph and Hilton, followed by a false start on the Badgers. Then, Caleb Bacon was held on an outside run, moving back Wisconsin again.

A dump-off to Dupree collected 25 yards to move the chains at the two-minute warning. Collins clamped another receiver to stop the clock, and a Wisconsin false start moved it back another five.

The Badgers would not relent, as Joseph found a wide-open Jacob Harris over the middle, who broke a tackle en route to a backbreaking 72-yard score to give Wisconsin a 24-20 lead.

Penn State’s do-or-die drive began with a tipped Becht pass at the line. On 2nd-and-10, Becht scrambled for six yards. On a clever slant-lateral play from Sowell to Peoples, Wisconsin was flagged for tripping, moving the Nittany Lions up to midfield.

Becht then ripped one over the middle to Sowell for a 22-yard gain. Becht was sacked, forcing Campbell to use his second timeout of the half. Then, two more Becht deep balls fell incomplete, as just five seconds remained. Becht’s final pass sailed out of bounds as Penn State lost.

Takeaways

• As many worried, Penn State’s rushing attack regressed against heightened physicality. James Peoples led the Nittany Lions on the ground with 67 yards on 14 carries. He was the only back to average over three yards per carry.
• Three defensive takeaways, including a pick-six in the second quarter, kept Penn State in control and gave its sluggish offense breathing room. D’Anton Lynn’s unit also held strong after Rocco Becht’s tipped interception early in the third quarter, forcing a three-and-out to keep Wisconsin to a field goal. Still, it wasn’t enough to beat the Badgers.
• Third-and-long haunted the Penn State offense on Saturday night, as the unit averaged 6.9 yards to go and went 0-5 from 3rd-and-9 and beyond. The blue and white offense converted just seven of its 18 third downs.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions head to Evanston, Illinois, to take on Northwestern at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 2, at Ryan Field. Folks can tune in on FOX.