{"id":67071,"date":"2024-10-27T10:00:23","date_gmt":"2024-10-27T14:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=67071"},"modified":"2024-10-27T00:11:08","modified_gmt":"2024-10-27T04:11:08","slug":"key-takeaways-penn-state-vs-wisconsin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/10\/27\/key-takeaways-penn-state-vs-wisconsin\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Takeaways: Penn State vs. Wisconsin"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a Big Ten matchup in Madison, Penn State beat Wisconsin 28-13. \u00a0As expected<\/a>, it was a close and hard-fought game. \u00a0With Wisconsin coming in having won three in a row, Penn State was able to withstand the hard-nosed approach of the Badgers and remain undefeated. \u00a0However, it was not all great news for Penn State. \u00a0Quarterback Drew Allar<\/a> did not play in the second half because of an apparent knee injury. \u00a0Additionally, defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton<\/a>, and right tackle Anthony Donkoh<\/a>, were injured. \u00a0These developments put a damper on what was a solid all-around win for Penn State. \u00a0Still, it was a positive evening for them, as Penn State defeated Wisconsin as Allar was injured.<\/p>\n

Despite entering the second half trailing 10-7, Penn State was able to deliver a statement win on the road. \u00a0The backup quarterback, the defense, and the sheer will to win were all on display for the Nittany Lions. \u00a0This game had a little bit of everything, including some head-scratching plays. \u00a0Other than Allar’s injury, Wisconsin’s special teams featured a scramble by the punter to avoid a block. \u00a0Atticus Bertram<\/a> picked up a first down on the play to set up the game’s first score.<\/p>\n

Key Takeaways: Penn State vs. Wisconsin<\/h2>\n

The Beau Show<\/h3>\n

Starting quarterback Allar exited the game right before halftime. \u00a0After taking a sack, he sailed his next throw and walked (gingerly) to the locker room right before the end of the half. \u00a0Allar finished the half with 14 completions in 18 attempts, for 148 yards and a touchdown. \u00a0Starting the second half after Allar’s injury was backup Beau Pribula<\/a>. \u00a0The Beau Show was on.<\/p>\n

After a bit of a rough start, Pribula started looking more comfortable. \u00a0Of course, having a leading running back duo<\/a> like Nick Singleton<\/a> and Kaytron Allen<\/a> helps. \u00a0While some handoffs to the backs were clunky, Pribula also kept the ball on some plays and was a successful runner. \u00a0He is more of a “dual threat” quarterback than Allar and served as a change of pace. \u00a0Additionally, he was able to gain his footing in the passing game. \u00a0His third passing touchdown of the season, to Khalil Dinkins<\/a> in the fourth quarter, extended the lead to 21-13. \u00a0After the game, head coach James Franklin spoke about Pribula, saying that he is “Proud of him, he’s a winner. \u00a0He makes plays for us with his feet, his mind, and his arm.”<\/p>\n

Despite the injury, Allar remained on the sideline in the second half. \u00a0He was still vocal, and Primula’s biggest supporter. \u00a0Allar wasn’t able to be the quarterback in the second half but remained a captain. \u00a0Heading into a pivotal showdown with Ohio State in the next game, the status of Allar and the quarterback position will be a major storyline. \u00a0With Pribula’s big game, Penn State was able to defeat Wisconsin despite Allar being injured.<\/p>\n

Turning Point Turnover<\/h3>\n

In the third quarter, Penn State trailed 10-7 with their star quarterback, and offensive leader, out for the game. \u00a0Defensive coordinator Tom Allen and his defense needed to come up with a big play to spark the team, and they delivered in a big way.<\/p>\n

Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke<\/a> has shown a propensity to throw interceptions as he gains more comfort as the starting quarterback for the Badgers. \u00a0The string of games with interceptions continued for Locke in the third quarter. \u00a0He threw an interception to Jaylen Reed<\/a> that seemed to change the momentum. \u00a0Reed returned the interception for a touchdown to put Penn State back in front, by a score of 14-10.<\/p>\n

Complementary football is key, especially for a team like Penn State which entered the game ranked third in the country. \u00a0With the offense looking to rediscover its way after losing Allar, Allen’s defense responded. \u00a0It is not a surprise that it was Reed to deliver the big play, either. \u00a0A veteran leader on the defense, Reed has been a consistent performer all season. In discussing the performance of the defense after the game, Reed said “Some of the young guys had to step up today. \u00a0I’m super proud of them.”<\/p>\n

By the Numbers: Penn State vs. Wisconsin<\/h2>\n

Offense<\/h3>\n

Passing: <\/strong>Penn State threw for 246 yards, compared to 217 for Wisconsin. \u00a0Allar completed 14 of 18 for 148 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. \u00a0Pribula completed 11 of 13 for 98 yards. \u00a0For Wisconsin, Locke completed 22 of 42 for 217 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception.<\/p>\n

Rushing:\u00a0<\/strong>Penn State had 173 yards, compared to 81 yards for Wisconsin. \u00a0Allen led Penn State with 86 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown. \u00a0Singleton carried 12 times for 49 yards. \u00a0Tawee Walker<\/a> led Wisconsin with 59 yards on 22 carries with the only touchdown for Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

Receiving:\u00a0<\/strong>Trey Wallace<\/a> led Penn State with 67 yards on five receptions. \u00a0Singleton and Dinkins had receiving touchdowns. \u00a0For Wisconsin, Will Pauling had a game-high 79 receiving yards on eight receptions.<\/p>\n

Defense\/Special Teams<\/h3>\n

Defense: <\/strong>Zakee Wheatley<\/a> led Penn State defenders with 10 tackles. \u00a0Reed had five tackles and an interception that he returned for a touchdown. \u00a0Hunter Wohler led Wisconsin with a game-high 11 tackles, and Jake Chaney<\/a> had the game’s only sack.<\/p>\n

Special Teams:\u00a0<\/strong>For Penn State, Ryan Barker<\/a> converted on all four of his extra-point attempts, and did not try any field goals. \u00a0Riley Thompson had five punts, averaging 43.8 yards per punt. \u00a0For Wisconsin, Nathanial Vakos<\/a> made both of his field goal attempts, and his only extra points try. \u00a0Bertrams punted five times, averaging 51,4 yards per punt.<\/p>\n

\"Key
Photo Credit: Mark Hoffman\/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a Big Ten matchup in Madison, Penn State beat Wisconsin 28-13. \u00a0As expected, it was a close and hard-fought game. \u00a0With Wisconsin coming in having won three in a row, Penn State was able to withstand the hard-nosed approach of the Badgers and remain undefeated. \u00a0However, it was not all great news for Penn […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5172,"featured_media":67113,"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":[5,2],"tags":[7983,79,34305,837,3440,309,34306,1073,34304,85],"class_list":["post-67071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bigten","category-featured","tag-big-ten-football","tag-college-football","tag-hunter-wohler","tag-james-franklin","tag-penn-state-defense","tag-penn-state-nittany-lions","tag-riley-thompson","tag-tom-allen","tag-will-pauling","tag-wisconsin-badgers"],"modified_by":"Kate Pearson Halyburton, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67071","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=67071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}