{"id":66785,"date":"2024-10-22T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T13:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=66785"},"modified":"2024-10-21T20:33:41","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T00:33:41","slug":"penn-state-looks-to-keep-rolling-vs-wisconsin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/10\/22\/penn-state-looks-to-keep-rolling-vs-wisconsin\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn State Looks to Keep Rolling"},"content":{"rendered":"

The third-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions play their next game on Saturday against the Wisconsin Badgers.\u00a0 Following a bye week, this is Penn State\u2019s fourth Big Ten contest of the season.\u00a0 The Nittany Lions defeated USC 33-30 in an overtime thriller<\/a> before the bye, to stay undefeated.\u00a0 Penn State\u2019s record stands at 6-0, with a 3-0 record in the Big Ten.\u00a0 This game continues the toughest stretch of the Penn State schedule.\u00a0 Following Wisconsin, Penn State will take on fourth-ranked Ohio State, and then Washington.\u00a0 Below is a preview of this pivotal Penn State vs. Wisconsin matchup, where Penn State will look to keep rolling.\u00a0 Included are key Nittany Lions to watch.\u00a0 While it would be easy to name do-everything Tyler Warren<\/a>, and quarterback Drew Allar<\/a>, we will look at three others that should have an impact on this game.<\/p>\n

The Badgers enter the game with a record of 5-2, and are 3-1 in their Big Ten games.\u00a0 Wisconsin\u2019s two defeats this season have come at the hands of two teams ranked at the time, Alabama and USC. However, things have turned around during an easier part of the schedule.\u00a0 Over their last three games, Wisconsin has outscored Purdue, Rutgers, and Northwestern by a combined score of 117-16. Head Coach Luke Fickell and the Badgers will be motivated to keep their momentum going.\u00a0 A win over Penn State would be a definitive statement.<\/p>\n

#3 Penn State (6-0) at Wisconsin (5-2) Preview<\/h2>\n

When & Where:\u00a0<\/strong>Saturday, October 26, 7:30 pm ET, at Wisconsin (Camp Randall Stadium)<\/p>\n

Last Game\u2019s Results: <\/strong>Penn State had their second bye week of the season last week.\u00a0 The week before, they won on the road, defeating USC 33-30 in overtime.\u00a0 Wisconsin beat Northwestern on the road by a score of 23-3.<\/p>\n

Last Season\u2019s Results: <\/strong>Penn State finished ranked #13 after a 10-3 season that ended with a Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss.\u00a0 Wisconsin was 7-6 overall, including a 35-31 loss to LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl.<\/p>\n

Series History: <\/strong>Penn State leads the series all-time by an 11 to nine margin.\u00a0 The teams last met in 2021, when Penn State won 16-10.<\/p>\n

Penn State Looks to Keep Rolling vs. Wisconsin: Key Nittany Lions to Watch<\/h3>\n

Defensive End Abdul Carter<\/h3>\n

Perhaps the most talented player on the entire roster, Abdul Carter<\/a> has made an impact on some games this season.\u00a0 However, in his first season after moving from linebacker to defensive end, Carter\u2019s performance has been very uneven.<\/p>\n

Earlier this season, Carter was guilty of too many penalties.\u00a0 These penalties included five-yard offside penalties.\u00a0 They also included more punitive 15-yard penalties.\u00a0 Whether it was getting adjusted to the new position, new defensive coordinator Tom Allen\u2019s scheme, or simply trying too hard, Carter was not performing up to his capabilities.<\/p>\n

Against Illinois<\/a> earlier this year, it seemed to click for Carter.\u00a0 He was named National Player of the Week by the Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy.\u00a0 This was in addition to Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, and Senior Bowl Co-Defensive Player of the Week accolades.\u00a0 In that game, Carter had four tackles for loss, including two sacks.\u00a0 He also had a forced fumble and pass breakup.<\/p>\n

With the schedule continuing to toughen, Carter needs to match the intensity.\u00a0 Against USC, he had five tackles, a sack, and a pass breakup.\u00a0 Facing the Badgers offense, the Penn State defense will be seeing quarterback Braedyn Locke<\/a>, who is filling in for the injured Tyler Van Dyke<\/a>.\u00a0 Despite Wisconsin winning each of the last three games handily, Locke has shown the propensity to throw interceptions.\u00a0 Pressure from Carter will force the issue with the sophomore quarterback.\u00a0 That ability to pressure Locke makes Carter a Nittany Lion to watch as Penn State looks to keep rolling vs. Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

Defensive Back Jaylen Reed<\/h3>\n

Corresponding to Carter\u2019s ability to impact the game by applying pressure, Jaylen Reed<\/a> can be one of the beneficiaries of rushed throws.\u00a0 Defensive coordinator Tom Allen runs a hybrid 4-2-5 defensive scheme that relies heavily<\/a> on players like Jaylen Reed to contribute from a hybrid linebacker\/defensive back spot.<\/p>\n

Reed has had a solid year so far.\u00a0 As a senior, he was expected to team with KJ Winston<\/a> to provide leadership and stability to the new defense.\u00a0 With Winston sustaining a long-term injury<\/a>, more of the onus now falls on Reed.\u00a0 He has the abilities necessary to succeed in the hybrid role.\u00a0 This includes success at all three levels (line of scrimmage, linebacker, and defensive backfield).<\/p>\n

Against a quarterback that has turned the ball over, the pass rush is essential.\u00a0 Carter, with help from Zane Durant<\/a> and Dani Dennis-Sutton<\/a>, should have that covered.\u00a0 Additionally, shutting down the Wisconsin running attack puts more pressure on Locke to throw the ball.\u00a0 In his role, Reed can help the more understated linebacking corps of Penn State<\/a>.\u00a0 Lastly, the defensive backs need to be in the right position to capitalize on potential interceptions.\u00a0 Reed\u2019s leadership will help in that regard.\u00a0 His ability to impact the game from all three levels makes Reed a Nittany Lion to watch.<\/p>\n

Running Back Nick Singleton<\/h3>\n

Coming into the 2024 season, the running back position was one of the obvious strengths for Penn State<\/a>.\u00a0 With Nick Singleton<\/a> and Kaytron Allen<\/a>, the Nittany Lions have arguably the strongest running back room in the country.\u00a0 However, while both Singleton and Allen have shown flashes, they have not had a statement game against a quality opponent yet.\u00a0 This matchup against Wisconsin could be where that changes.<\/p>\n

Quarterback Allar performed very well against USC.\u00a0 Despite throwing two interceptions, he looked more poised as he continued to develop<\/a> in the position.\u00a0 However, Wisconsin football has been synonymous with smash-mouth running games.\u00a0 A way for teams to counter that is to have their strong ground games.\u00a0 While both Singleton and Allen have done well both running and receiving, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki should look to utilize their talents more on the ground against Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

Singleton missed the UCLA game<\/a> with an injury but was back against USC.\u00a0 He rushed 10 times for only 26 yards.\u00a0 However, Singleton scored on a 14-yard reception as he finished with four catches for 39 yards with the touchdown.\u00a0 So far this season, Singleton has 434 yards on the ground with three touchdowns.\u00a0 He has added 10 catches for 113 yards and three more touchdowns through the air.\u00a0 His ability to impact the game on the ground, along with Allen, makes Singleton a Nittany Lion to watch.<\/p>\n

\"Penn
Photo courtesy: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The third-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions play their next game on Saturday against the Wisconsin Badgers.\u00a0 Following a bye week, this is Penn State\u2019s fourth Big Ten contest of the season.\u00a0 The Nittany Lions defeated USC 33-30 in an overtime thriller before the bye, to stay undefeated.\u00a0 Penn State\u2019s record stands at 6-0, with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5172,"featured_media":66790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[7983,4035,1353,272,3440,309,7449,8852,1073,85],"class_list":["post-66785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-bigten","tag-big-ten-football","tag-bronko-nagurski-award","tag-chuck-bednarik-award","tag-luke-fickell","tag-penn-state-defense","tag-penn-state-nittany-lions","tag-penn-state-offense","tag-penn-state-running-backs","tag-tom-allen","tag-wisconsin-badgers"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5172"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}