(Read the original Keys to the Game HERE)
1. New Names, New Faces?
Culmer St. Jean, Kim Royston, and Aaron Henry all saw some significant time as veterans faltered, but there was no significant upgrade or downgrade in the level of play.
2. Travis Beckum vs. Dan Connor
Connor played well as always, but the PSU linebackers didn’t spend a whole lot of time on Beckum. With limited threats to defend, the PSU defense often bracketed Beckum with defensive backs and was limited to 5 catches for 70 yards.
3. Moving the Chains
Hill actually had more success that I predicted, running for about 4 yards per carry and 79 total yards. Still, Wisconsin was just 6 for 16 on third downs and had just two drives of more than 50 yards, one for a touchdown and one resulting in a missed FG by Taylor Mehlhaff. Once again, they battled negative field position all game long.
4. Bend, But Don’t Break
Penn State scored on 5 of their first 8 possessions, including four touchdowns. They did get a missed field goal in the second quarter, but simply put, the Wisconsin defense could not stop the Nittany Lions while the game was in doubt.
5. Who Fliches First?
Wisconsin once again finished at –2 for the game, including two Tyler Donovan interceptions while Anthony Morelli played spotless football. When your defense is struggling, you simply can’t lose the turnover battle, especially early in the game as the Badgers did.
Badgermaniac’s Prediction
Not a terribly surprising game. Given the turnover problems early (I predicted the mistakes to come a bit later in the game), the end result is about what was expected. Still, I did expect the Badgers to hang around a bit longer, so I will give my prediction a B grade.