By james art Tonight is a trap game if ever there was one, and it will be a test of the Nittany Lions’ maturity.
Wisconsin (5-2) doesn’t have a signature win, but anyone who’s ever been to Madison knows that Camp Randall can get rocked if the Badgers play well and the visiting team doesn’t. And especially at night.
UW has shaken off a rough September — lopsided losses to Alabama and USC — and gained momentum with three straight wins (Purdue, Rutgers, Northwestern).
Penn State is 6-0, ranked No. 3 and has its game of the year against Ohio State looming next Saturday.
The last few years under James Franklin, the Lions haven’t been able to contain their pitching when they’ve been rated so highly and hit the road — and not just when they’ve faced the Buckeyes and Michigan.
In 2022, at 5-0 and ranked No. 4, PSU went to Iowa and lost, sparking a slump that saw them lose six of their last eight games.
In 2019, 8-0 and ranked No. 5, the Lions went to No. 13 Minnesota and were defeated 31-26, ruining that season.
Like this year, Penn State was coming off a bye that day and had yet to face Ohio State.
Franklin is 3-5 after the bye.
To cut through the past narrative, the Nittany Lions would do well to show some muscle tonight.
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• Maryland fans stormed the court last week after coming from behind to beat USC in the final minute. There are no hard and fast rules about when it’s appropriate to storm the field, but this doesn’t seem to be one of them. The Terps are 4-3 and the Trojans are 3-4.
• USC has blown leads in each of its losses, but the Trojans still best Penn State, followed by Illinois, even though the Illini are ranked. West Virginia, considered a respectable opponent, falls to 3-4.
• Of Tyler Warren’s 224 yards on 17 receptions at USC, 151 of them came after the catch, an absurd number. Warren entered the game with 115 YAC yards in five games.
• Harrison Wallace had five catches, including two touchdowns, at WVU and has just 12 (and no TV) in the five games since.
• Oklahoma fired its offensive coordinator this past week, notable because Andy Kotelnicki was considered for the position before landing at PSU. You’d think Kotelnicki’s next stop would be as a head coach. He has the offensive mind and character for it.
• SEC officiating was in the spotlight last weekend in the Alabama-Tennessee and Georgia-Texas games. The Tide practically had its last gasp from an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when one of its receivers threw a jab — in apparent response to a taunt by a Tennessee player. Instead of fourth-and-6, it became fourth-and-22 in the Alabama loss. Even worse, Texas fans littered the field with beer cans, leading to a controversial pass interference call being overturned. Although the crew was able to make the right call, the delay in cleaning appeared to be the impetus that set a dangerous precedent.
• Life in the (expanded) Big Ten: Rutgers goes to USC on Friday night for an 11pm ET opener. So if you know any Rutgers fans, put them to sleep today.
Neil Rudel can be reached at [email protected]. He will answer brief questions and comments on Gameday.