Preview: Penn State VS Wisconsin

Tagged under: Penn State, Pennsylvania Colleges, pfn

Jacob Steinberg | September 23, 2026

State College — The Penn State Nittany Lions enter conference play with an undefeated record, sitting at 3-0, only one-of-35 perfect teams remaining in college football.

This Saturday at 5:00 PM, Penn State, ranked 13 in the AP Poll, will host the Wisconsin Badgers (2-1) on homecoming week. The Badgers have won the last two games, 36-9 vs Western Illinois and 54-10 vs Eastern Michigan. They started the season with a 41-13 defeat against Notre Dame.

Penn State has beaten Wisconsin in six consecutive matchups. They are 12-9 all-time against the Badgers and 5-3 at home.

Their first three opponents- Marshall, Temple, Buffalo- were no basically no threat to Penn State, but was a good test to see where the Nittany Lions stand entering Big Ten play.

Through the non-conference matchups, the offense for Penn State has been on fire, scoring 85 points, while the defense has been one of the best in the country, only allowing nine points prior to “garbage time”.

However, the Nittany Lions will be without standout receiver, Koby Howard, as head coach Matt Campbell ruled him out for the Big Ten opener:

Koby [Howard] will be out for an extended period of time

Penn State will be without their top weapon who has 344-receiving yards this season. That means Brett Eskildsen, Chase Sowell, Benjamin Brahmer, and Zay Robinson will have to step up and try to replace Howard’s production.

However, the blue and white are in good hands with quarterback Rocco Becht. The fifth-year player has a completion percentage of 70% and is averaging 16.7 yards per completion.

Moving over to rushing attack, 11 players have had a positive run for the offense. The majority of the carries have been in the hands of Carson Hansen, Quinton Martin Jr., James Peoples, and Cam Wallace. While Hansen has had the most reps, 35 carries this season, it was Martin Jr. who received the majority of the workload in last week’s victory over Buffalo. The running back room is gaining experience and confidence, but the door is wide open for the number one spot, as Campbell said:

I think they all kind of had a couple great moments… All four guys really did some great things with the ball in their hand in some critical moments

The Wisconsin defense will be the first challenge for Campbell’s group. The Badgers only allow 86.5-rushing yards per game, and less than 200-passing yards per game.

Penn State’s third-down conversion rate is one of the best in college football, 42.11%. Their opposition only allows a third-down conversion 28.57% of the time. The cat-and-mouse game on critical third-downs will be a factor in this matchup.

I did think we took a little step back last week in those areas [third-downs] from a numerical standpoint [2-10] and really from an execution standpoint. We will have to be much better as we go into the game this week for sure

Switching over the Wisconsin’s offense, they average 33.5 points per game and 381-yards of total offense per game through the first three weeks. Quarterback Colton Jospeh has thrown for five touchdowns to two interceptions.

The duo between Tyrell Henry and Chris Brooks Jr. can be potent. Henry has 293-receiving yards on the season, and Brooks Jr. averages 21-yards per catch. However, the Badgers have yet to face a defense as strong as the Nittany Lions are.

Led by Tony Rojas, who leads the team in total tackles, the Penn State defense just allows 3.4-yards per play which is third in the nation. They are fourth in points allowed per game, 7.3, third in yards allowed per game, 201, and second in third-down conservation allowed rate, 15.38%.

The best defensive stat so far this season is that Penn State is first in the country in passing yards per game by the opposition. The defense only allows 90-yards per game. Only 90.

The Badgers’ offense will be challenged by a hungry group of Nittany Lions. The one thing that is hold the blue and white back are penalties.

Last week against Buffalo, Campbell’s group settled for eight penalties and average 5.3 on the season. If Penn State wants to make a deep run, they need to stop costing them first downs, or giving the opponent free first downs.

Wisconsin commits even more penalties, an average of six per game through the first three weeks.

Penn State opens up conference play with their first true test. They will be shorthanded, with Howard, but will have the crowd behind them as always.

On Monday during his press conference, Wisconsin head coach, Luke Fickell, said:

There’s no place that can be a wilder, crazier, louder environment than Happy Valley, especially later at night.

It is going to be loud. With homecoming being at the center of this conference matchup, West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium is going to be rocking.

Penn State is looking to beat Wisconsin for the seventh time in a row.

Saturday at 5:00 Pm on Peacock will feature Wisconsin Badgers vs Penn State Nittany Lions from West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium.