Keys to the Penn State Vs. Wisconsin Game

The Nittany Lions face the surging Wisconsin Badgers seeking to remain unbeaten in 2024.

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) avoids USC Trojans defensive end Braylan Shelby (34) as he carries the ball for a short a short gain. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Penn State is back in action this week after its second and final break of the 2024 regular season. The unbeaten Nittany Lions are set for six straight weeks of action that will take them through late November and officially dictate their College Football Playoff status. 

Coming out of the bye, No. 3 Penn State (6-0) will visit a Wisconsin team that started slow but has kicked things into a higher gear in recent weeks. While unranked, the Badgers (5-2) do present some matchup difficulties for the Nittany Lions. With that, here are some of the keys to a road win for James Franklin’s unit on Saturday night.

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Penn State's receivers need to capitalize on Tyler Warren's emergence

On one hand, Tyler Warren’s explosion vs. USC two weeks ago (17 receptions, 224 yards, one touchdown) let the rest of the Big Ten know this: Quarterback Drew Allar has a clear-cut No. 1 target to rely on this season. Warren does it all for the Nittany Lions, and there’s little reason to expect he’ll finish as anything but Penn State’s leading receiver by the end of the 2024 season. 

However, Warren’s dominant performances have also given future opponents one distinct player to focus on in Penn State’s passing game. That’s much easier said than done, as the tight end has at least three catches in every game this season. But the deeper Penn State goes into its schedule, the more defenses will be zoned in on Warren. Wisconsin gets the first crack at facing the multi-talented tight end since his record-breaking game. 

“There’s no doubt part of their plan is to give enough exotic, crazy looks to get guys’ heads spinning, to get them thinking rather than playing fast,” Wisconsin defensive coordinator Mike Trissel said earlier this week.

The more defenses worry about locking down Warren, the more Allar and the Nittany Lions could use consistent threats at wide receiver. So far, there’s been a cycle of Tre Wallace (283 receiving yards), Omari Evans (236 receiving yards) and Liam Clifford (206 receiving yards) stepping up in any given matchup. All three have shown they can put forth a big game when needed, and Julian Fleming was a big-moment receiver at USC.

Wisconsin is allowing just 155.9 passing yards per game this season, which ranks seventh in FBS. Against a strong Badgers secondary, Allar could use a reliable target in the wide receiver room. Depth has been the storyline for Penn State’s receivers so far, but getting at least one reliable target outside of Warren set in stone could be beneficial for the team down the stretch.

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The Nittany Lions must jump on Braedyn Locke’s deep passes

Badgers sophomore quarterback Braedyn Locke took over in Week 3 after a season-ending knee injury to Tyler Van Dyke. Since becoming the starter against USC in Week 4, Locke has at least one interception in every game despite Wisconsin going 3-1 and riding a three-game win streak.

Behind Locke, the Badgers have shifted their offensive identity around running the football with senior back Tawee Walker. Over those three wins, Walker has 418 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 66 carries. With Wisconsin’s defense playing well (16 points allowed in its last three games) and its ground game effective, Locke hasn’t had to do much heavy lifting as the starter. He did throw for 359 yards and three touchdowns against Purdue, but those numbers were paired with two interceptions. 

Locke has played well enough to keep Wisconsin rolling, but when he’s aired the ball out, it’s resulted in some consistent turnovers. Getting him to third down is key as well. Locke has completed 43.6 percent of his passes, and thrown three interceptions, on third down. Stopping Walker and the rushing attack will come first for Penn State on Saturday, but the sophomore quarterback’s recent turnover streak is an opportunity the Nittany Lions can exploit.

“They've been taking a lot of shots downfield,” Penn State cornerback Jalen Kimber said of Wisconsin. “So that's something that we will probably — not probably — we will be ready for.”

Drew Allar plays a clean game

Given that the Badgers’ defense is allowing nearly 140 rushing yards per game, Penn State running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen shouldn’t have too many issues finding lanes to run. Penn State should be able to effectively return to the run-first approach that worked well through five games but changed a bit in Week 7 against USC.

As long as the run game is going according to plan, Allar shouldn’t have to do too much with his arm in this matchup. If he can complete his short-range passes, scramble for first downs if necessary and protect the ball, Penn State should be in a good position offensively. Having already beaten two strong opponents on the road, the Nittany Lions have proven they can play their brand of football in tough environments — and one aspect within that is not beating themselves with turnovers. 

Luckily, two of Allar’s clear strengths as a quarterback are his efficiency and avoiding interceptions — he has just six of in 19 games since becoming the starter in 2023, and three of those came against USC two weeks ago. This isn’t a matchup in which Franklin should need his quarterback to throw for 300-plus. As long as Allar remains the usual efficient, reliable and mobile quarterback he’s been through six games, Penn State should be able to ride its run game and defense to a seventh win.

Penn State will take on Wisconsin on Saturday night at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on NBC and Peacock.

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Daniel Mader, a May 2024 graduate of Penn State, is an Editorial Intern with The Sporting News. As a student journalist with The Daily Collegian, he served as a sports editor and covered Nittany Lions women’s basketball, men’s volleyball and more. He has also covered Penn State football for NBC Sports and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with additional work in the Centre Daily Times, Lancaster Online and more. Follow him on X @DanielMader_    or Instagram @dmadersports.