Wisconsin Stuns Penn State, 24-20

Tagged under: Penn State, Pennsylvania Colleges, Scores

Jacob Steinberg | September 27, 2026

State College– As Penn State entered Big Ten conference play and wrapped up the “easier” part of their schedule, the Wisconsin Badgers stunned the Nittany Lions by dominating the entire second half.

The first half for Penn State saw multiple good moments; however the second half turned bad, then eventually into ugly, with the Badgers upsetting the Nittany Lions 24-20. Matt Campbell on the second half struggles:

I feel like it led to the second half of the football game at the same spot. We’ve got the players and people to do it, but we’re going to have to make it right. I feel like we have a lot to play for.

Penn State was without leading receiver Kobe Howard, and there was no one to replace his absence; only three receivers had a reception in the game, only four were targeted by Rocco Becht.

Penn State received the opening kickoff and got senior back Carson Hansen early reps. Likewise, Becht found his tight end, Benjamin Brahmer, for 14-yards on the opening drive. The senior ended with only 36-receiving yards when the game was all said and done. Penn State was forced to punt in the middle of the field, giving the ball right to the Badgers.

The first quarter for Wisconsin was certainly not the start they wanted in Happy Valley. Two drives, two punts, just 10 total yards in the first quarter.

In between those punts, Penn State got on the board with a 22-yard field goal by Ryan Barker. The series started at Wisconsin’s 40-yard line, and Penn State was able to march all the way to the one. However, with a negative rush by Quinton Martin Jr. and an incompletion, head coach Matt Campbell was forced with a tough decision:

That first possession, it was a little bit goofy down there too. The penalty that happened kind of got it goofy in terms of what we saw was a different defense than maybe what we had prepared for.

In weeks past, Campbell settled for points early, and he did just that here. Penn State leads Wisconsin 3-0 after the first quarter of play.

The second quarter got underway, and the fun was just about to begin for the Nittany Lions defense. Quarterback Colton Joseph started the possession with an 18-yard completion to Eugene Hilton Jr. Following back-to-back runs by Darrio Dupree, Joseph was forced to throw, but ended up underthrowing his intended target. Josiah Zayas returned the interception all the way home, putting Penn State up 10-0 and shaking Beaver Stadium.

Image captured by: @John.Starcevic.Media

The next possession for the Badgers could not have gone much worse. False start, short run, incompletion, and another interception. This time Daryus Dixson was the hero. The sophomore cornerback picked helped Penn State record back-to-back interceptions, setting up the offense in prime field position.

Starting at the opponent’s 11-yard line, James Peoples rushed for six-yards, followed by back-to-back rushes for Becht. The latter rush from three-yards out got the quarterback into the end zone, putting Penn State on top, 17-0.

Image captured by: @John.Starcevic.Media

Both teams traded punts on the ensuing possessions. Wisconsin started their sixth possession with nothing going on offense. So far, the Badgers punted three times thrown had two interceptions- one being returned for a touchdown.

However, Wisconsin ended the half strong with their best drive so far. Four different backs received touches on the drive: Abu Sama III, Dupree, Ryan Schwendeman, and Joseph. Mix that with an 11-yard pass to Chris Brooks Jr. and a 22-yard completion to Jacob Harris set up Wisconsin inside the red zone at the two-minute timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Joseph found the paint with back-to-back quarterback draws. Wisconsin found the scoreboard, trailing it 17-7.

The last possession in the half was a bit of a head scratcher for Campbell and Penn State. They had 1:13 remaining and all three timeouts. Following an eight-yard rush by Peoples and a Rocco Becht incompletion, Penn State was content with heading to the half up 10. There was no sense of urgency to give Barker a chance, no deep shot to see if you could draw a flag. Campbell on the decision:

I felt like we were playing such good defense there that I just didn’t want to put our team at risk…When it started negative, I just felt like the biggest thing for us is let’s get this thing into halftime. Let’s make the corrections, knowing that we had a really significant lead at the point.

Instead, Penn State headed into the locker room up 17-7.

Wisconsin got the ball to open the third quarter and were forced to punt for the fourth time. But they got the ball back immediately after Becht threw his first interception of the season. Charles Perkins picked it off after one of his defensive linemen tipped the pass at the line of scrimmage.

Starting at Penn State’s 22-yard line, Wisconsin had to settle for a field goal. Gavin Lahm’s lone attempt was good from 34-yards, bringing Wisconsin closer, 17-10.

Penn State followed up with their longest drive of the game. Chase Sowell, who led the team in catches and yards, had an 18-yard reception to bring the offense near midfield. Peoples was the main man on this drive, seeing five carries for 13 yards. Peoples ended the night as Penn State’s leading rusher, 67 yards on 14 attempts.

The Nittany Lions made it to the red zone, but once again settled for a field goal. Barker added on, pushing the lead back up to double digits.

Both teams punted to end the third quarter. Penn State 20-10 over Wisconsin.

The fourth quarter was drama-filled. A nine-play 27-yard drive for Wisconsin featured a fumble that the offense was able to recover and a short rush by Joseph. The quarterback ended the game with 39-rushing yards. Once again, Sean West had to punt the ball away.

Penn State was unable to do anything on the ensuing drive, punting it for the first out of three times in the quarter.

Tony Rojas came up huge for the defense, picking off Joseph. Penn State’s defense forced three interceptions against Wisconsin, adding to their total of eight on the season. Rojas now has two interceptions this season.

Once again, Penn State was unable to do anything after their defense gave them a gift. The lack of taking advantage of the forced turnovers has been an issue for four consecutive weeks now. If Penn State wants to make a run, they need to capitalize on these moments. Keeping Wisconsin in the game was the real reason for the collapse.

The Badgers then go on a 75-yard, 10 play drive that ended with a Hilton Jr. touchdown. The defense looked gassed, allowing huge gains to Dupree on the ground. He had rushes for 17-yards, 13-yards, and caught a 10-yard pass too. Joseph completed four passes in a row, threw an incompletion, and found Hilton Jr. for an 11-yard touchdown reception. Wisconsin is now within 3, 20-17.

Penn State, trying to eat the clock and get a few first downs to put the game out of reach, punted. Again. Three punts in the fourth. Six total punts by Nathan Tiyce. Wisconsin got the ball back at their own 15-yard line with 2:28 remaining in the contest.

With the student section to their back, Joseph threw an interception, and a false start was called on an offensive lineman. Dupree ran for two-yards, then caught a 25-yard pass to put Wisconsin at their own 31-yard line at the two-minute timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Joseph threw another incompletion, and a false start was called on the o-line again. The quarterback kept it and ran for two-yards, setting up third-and-13 from their own 28-yard line.

Joseph found a wide-open Harris for a 72-yard touchdown. The life was sucked out of Beaver Stadium. Wisconsin has come all the way back from a 17 point deficit. The Badgers now lead it 24-20.

Penn State had 1:13 and two timeouts to drive 75-yards.

The final drive started with an incompletion followed by a rush by Becht. Going no huddle, Penn State incorporated a pitch-and-catch gadget play where Sowell pitched it to Peoples for a six-yard gain. But Mason Posa tripped Peoples, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.

After an incompletion, Becht found Sowell for a 22-yard gain. They continued to employ a hurry-up offense, but Becht took a sack by Sebastian Cheeks and Hammond Russell IV. Matt Campbell burned his second timeout.

Penn State took three shots to the end zone. The first to Sowell was broken up. The second to Andrew Rappleyea was in his hands and dropped. The last chance had Becht rolling left where his final heave was too far.

Penn State had multiple chances to win it late. They had a ton of opportunities to increase their lead. They were unable to capitalize on the interceptions their defense forced.

Wisconsin played a great second half. They were determined and forced Penn State into tough situations.

Penn State has to play better in all aspects if they want to be back in the AP poll.

The pass protection needs to improve. The tight ends have to become more involved.

The defense cannot allow a 72-yard touchdown inside the final two minutes.

Adversity is what college football is about. The ability to overcome adversity and the ability to unify and rally forward. This will be a great test for us. We’ll find out a lot more about ourselves here in the next six days from our coaching staff and our players.

Penn State will travel to Northwestern (2-1) on a short week. Friday night football.

A must-win if the Nittany Lions want to be considered one of the best teams in the conference. A must-win to get back on track for the upcoming White Out game against USC on October 10.