No. 3 Penn State Football finds itself on the road again, against a surging Wisconsin.
The Badgers are coming off a 23-3 victory over Northwestern, while the Nittany Lions were on a bye the previous week– but it’s last time on the field won a thriller in overtime against USC.
Although next week’s game against Ohio State is on everyone’s mind, Penn State must take care of business against Wisconsin, on the road and at night in Camp Randell.
Before Saturday’s matchup, here are a few BOLD predictions heading into the matchup.
The Penn State defense forces three turnovers or more
Penn State forced three turnovers in the opener against West Virginia but has yet to eclipse that mark since then.
The Nittany Lions are tied for 85th in the country in takeaways, with just eight on the season.
There is too much talent on this Penn State defense and breakthrough will emerge against the Badgers.
In the last two against, the Nittany Lion defense has forced one turnover– Jaylen Reed’s interception at the end of the fourth quarter against USC to send the game to overtime.
But, Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke has thrown an interception in all four of his starts this year and I expect that trend to continue.
I expect the Nittany Lions to come out of the bye in mind that teams are getting the ball out early against their defense, but will find ways to get pressure on Locke and force a few turnovers.
Kaytron Allen rushes for over 100 yards
Everyone expected Penn State to be able to run all over UCLA and USC, but it just did not happen.
However, I think the Nittany Lions get their run game going behind Kaytron Allen and win a game in similar fashion to the Illinois contest earlier in the season.
Nick Singleton only had 10 carries for 26 yards against the Trojans, but this contest with Wisconsin plays right into Allen’s strengths.
Singleton will still get his fair share of carries, and while they will need him, I can see Penn State playing “bully ball” against Wisconsin, chewing the clock and relying on their backs to set the tone.
Penn State Football will not trail the entire game
This matchup has trap game written all over it, but it’s almost too obvious for it to be an actual trap game.
The Nittany Lions have notoriously struggled after a bye week, but with the momentum from the USC game I expect Andy Kotelnicki to have the offense humming once again.
Wisconsin has not trailed in its last three games, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say the Badgers don’t lead at any point in Saturday’s game.
It will be one of those games where the score is closer than it really was, but I see Penn State grabbing an early lead and not looking back.
The Nittany Lions seem to have a bit of an edge that it was lacking the last few years and I expect them to finally have a fast start this week.
MORE: Penn State’s Must-Win Matchups Against Wisconsin
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