No. 19 Penn State football upsets No. 12 Wisconsin on the road to start its season 1-0
Penn State football (1-0, 1-0) came out scoring in the second half of Saturday’s matchup with the Wisconsin Badgers (0-1, 0-1) at Camp Randall Stadium to earn the 16-10 upset victory.
The Nittany Lions and Badgers battled to a scoreless draw in the first half, despite a massive advantage in total yards (132-43), first downs (13-1) and time of possession (19:53-8:31) for Wisconsin.
Penn State was able to stuff two red zone attempts with a blocked field goal and a fumble recovery to prevent the Badgers from scoring in the game’s first 30 minutes despite those advantages.
The tide of the game changed quickly in the second half when both teams scored to make it 7-7 halfway through the third quarter. Both offenses were able to find some life and combine for 26 second-half points in what looked like a completely different game of football compared to the first half.
The change in scoring played to Penn State’s advantage, allowing the Nittany Lions to outpace a slower, more plodding Wisconsin offense. The win gives Penn State momentum in what looks to be a difficult schedule to open the season.
Player of the game
Penn State DE Arnold Ebiketie: Saturday’s game was a knock-down drag-out fight for the majority of the time on the field, but Ebiketie shined bright whenever he was out there. He was as disruptive as advertised in the passing games, earning a sack and a would-be strip sack had Graham Mertz not managed to get the ball out exactly when he did.
The real surprise was just how good he was in the running game. The senior defensive end, crashed down inside, held up offensive linemen for teammates to make plays and got into the backfield on runs at different points in Saturday’s game, finishing with seven total tackles.
Depth at defensive end might still be an issue but the top of the depth chart looks like it might best one of the best defensive ends in the Big Ten.
Play of the game
Jahan Dotson catches a 49-yard touchdown pass from Sean Clifford: Penn State couldn’t get anything going offensively, but a big play from two of its most important players turned that around. Clifford found Dotson wide open streaking down the field early in the second half to get the Nittany Lions on the board and flip the proverbial switch for the offense.
The play seemingly opened up the offense and gave Clifford the confidence to execute down the stretch. While he wasn’t perfect the rest of the way, he did lead a mostly efficient offense from that point on.
Turning point
Jaquan Brisker intercepts Graham Mertz at the goal line: Wisconsin was once again near the goal line late in Saturday’s game, threatening to score a touchdown and take the lead with Penn State up 16-10. Instead, senior safety Jaquan Brisker jumped a pass by Mertz on 4th-and-goal from the eight-yard line.
Brisker read the quarterback’s eyes and ran through the oncoming pass to return it all the way to the 43-yard-line and set up the Nittany Lions to drain clock on their way to victory.
The senior was in and out of the game due to injury, but managed to come up big in a game that could have a massive impact for the Nittany Lions the rest of the season.
Stat of the game
41: That’s how many minutes Wisconsin had the ball for in Saturday’s game. The Badgers did what they always do and controlled the clock with a power run game that’s difficult to match up against. That was exacerbated further by Penn State’s offense which made its money on big plays rather than long drawn-out drives for the majority of the game.
That was a major issue for the Nittany Lions in the scoreless first half, because it didn’t give them enough opportunities to overcome their poor start. However, the second half was much better for the Penn State offense thanks to explosive plays and improved quarterback play.
Regardless of how good the Nittany Lion offense is this year, it may get crushed in time of possession because of how it plays. Saturday, that didn’t matter thanks to the team’s explosive plays.
Up next
vs. Ball State: Things get a little easier for Penn State at home next week. The Cardinals were seen as a sneaky trap game for the Nittany Lions heading into the season, but after a 31-21 win over Western Illinois in their opener, Ball State looks much less intimidating.
They’re still a good opponent, but Penn State should be able to earn a victory in their home opener next weekend on the back of what appears to be a very strong defense.
This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 3:57 PM.
