Wisconsin didn’t just beat Penn State on Saturday. It stared down a game that looked all but lost, then ripped it away in the final minutes for a 24-20 road win over the then-No. 13 Nittany Lions.
The Badgers were down by two scores in the middle of the fourth quarter, and the situation got even uglier after Colton Joseph threw his third interception of the night. ESPN Analytics gave Penn State a 98.5 percent chance to win at that point. Wisconsin still found a way.
First came the stop. The Badgers forced a three-and-out in just 1:07, then put together a 75-yard drive in 10 plays. Joseph finished it by finding Eugene Hilton on 3rd & 10 for an 11-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to three.
Penn State went three-and-out again - its fourth straight such possession - and Wisconsin got the ball back with 2:28 to play needing only a field goal. Instead, Jacob Harris delivered the knockout blow, turning a 3rd & 13 into a 72-yard touchdown that put Wisconsin ahead 24-20 with 1:13 left.
That play flipped the numbers in a hurry. Penn State’s win probability dropped from 89.4 percent on 2nd & 15 to 8.4 percent on the next snap. Wisconsin’s defense then finished the job, locking down the final stop and giving Luke Fickell his biggest win at Wisconsin.
The comeback also put the Badgers in rare company. Their 17-point rally was the program’s largest since October 28th, 2006 against Illinois. Wisconsin has had other notable late surges, including a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback in 2023 with Braeden Locke, but this one carried a different kind of weight because of the opponent, the setting, and the moment.
It was not a clean night for Wisconsin by any stretch. The Badgers had three turnovers, committed nine penalties - including multiple flags on the final drive - and went just 4 of 15 on third down.
Joseph also finished with a sub-50 percent completion rate. None of that stopped Wisconsin from leaving Happy Valley with a win that will be remembered for a long time.
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Over a three-game sample, his shooting efficiency has improved, his assist-to-turnover ratio looks better and his defensive activity has picked up as well. It is a promising stretch for a player whose path to this point has been bumpy, and it gives Badgers fans a reason to keep an eye on what comes next, even if the bigger question of whether this becomes an NBA return is still unresolved. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Earned A Huge Road Win And Got No Respect After
Wisconsin left Beaver Stadium with a road win that should have carried real weight, especially against a Penn State team playing in front of its home crowd. The Badgers did enough to leave with the result, and in a game like that, the opponent usually has no choice but to acknowledge what happened on the other sideline.
Instead, Penn State head coach Matt Campbell spent his postgame news conference dwelling almost entirely on his own teams mistakes. He pointed to missed chances, a touchdown given up after a player slipped, and a long list of opportunities Penn State failed to convert, while Wisconsins performance barely got a mention. For the Badgers, it was a reminder that a hard-earned win does not always come with the respect it deserves. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin May Already Have Its Most Reliable Weapon Off The Bench
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That matters for a Wisconsin offense still sorting through other moving parts, with Abu Sama dealing with injuries and Malachi Coleman searching for steadier production. In that kind of mix, Duprees emergence gives the Badgers a back who can stay on the field and handle different jobs without much drop-off. For a team looking for reliable offense, the bench may already be hiding one of its most useful weapons. [Read more 🡒]