'It's impressive to watch': Penn State coach James Franklin praises Wisconsin

Penn State's head coach was very complimentary of Wisconsin ahead of their marquee matchup.

Sep 28, 2024; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin on the sideline during the third quarter against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Illinois 21-7. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Wisconsin will welcome James Franklin and No. 3 Penn State to Camp Randall Stadium for a prime-time showdown this week. Franklin is a perfect 3-0 against the Badgers since becoming the program's head coach in 2014.

Despite the success, he was very complimentary of Luke Fickell and the current state of Wisconsin's program when he spoke to the media earlier this week.

“Wisconsin, a lot of history with this program. A ton of respect for their head coach, obviously he’s a Big Ten guy, for most of his career, as a player and as a coach. He’s done a nice job wherever he has been,” Franklin said. "I think the last three weeks they’ve played their best football. They’re really coming on right now, just watching them on tape how clean they’re playing, how hard they’re playing. It’s impressive to watch.”

Since starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke went down with a season-ending ACL injury in Week 3, Braedyn Locke has begun to find his rhythm as Wisconsin's QB1. During the team's last three victories over Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern, he has completed 65% of his passes for 253 yards per game and a total of five touchdowns, though he has also tossed four interceptions.

Wisconsin's offense has found its flow, averaging 495.6 yards per game during its three-game win streak. It hasn't just been Locke, as running back Tawee Walker and wide receiver Vinny Anthony have emerged as big-time playmakers.

"We’ve been impressed with their quarterback Braedyn Locke, who is a Mississippi State transfer. We’ve been impressed with their running back No. 3 Tawee Walker, who is an Oklahoma transfer," Franklin said. "And then their wide receiver No. 8 Vinny Anthony, those guys have been impressive to watch. And again, they’re doing some really good things.”

Walker has averaged 139.3 rushing yards per game over the last three games, while Anthony's 24.2 yards per reception ranks third in the country amongst players with at least 10 catches.

The Badgers have never taken down Franklin and they haven't beaten Penn State at Camp Randall since 2006. They will look to change those streaks on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT.