Colton Joseph’s afternoon at Beaver Stadium started with two interceptions that put Wisconsin in a 17-0 hole and made the Badgers look completely out of sorts. It ended with him steering them to one of the biggest wins of the Luke Fickell era.
Wisconsin stunned No. 13 Penn State 24-20 on Saturday in State College, using two fourth-quarter touchdown passes from Joseph - the last a 72-yard catch-and-run to tight end Jacob Harris with 1:13 left - to pull off a comeback that looked impossible for most of the day. The Badgers improved to 3-1, 1-0 in the Big Ten, while Penn State fell to 3-1, 0-1.
The victory snapped a long list of frustrating trends for Wisconsin. The Badgers won their Big Ten opener for the first time since 2023, ended a six-game losing streak against the Nittany Lions, won at Penn State for the first time since 2003, and finally broke a 13-game skid against AP Top 20 teams.
Joseph’s stat line tells the whole arc of the game. He threw for just 91 yards and two interceptions through three quarters, then flipped the script in the fourth by going 8-for-16 for 144 yards, two touchdowns and another interception.
His biggest throw came with Wisconsin facing third-and-13. Joseph found Harris breaking free down the hash marks, and Harris turned the play into the go-ahead touchdown after shaking a tackle at the Penn State 32.
Wisconsin’s defense closed the door from there. The Badgers were aggressive all afternoon, and transfer defensive backs Javan Robinson and Bryce Shaw each helped by breaking up deep balls. When Penn State quarterback Rocco Blecht launched a Hail Mary at the end, Wisconsin’s defenders were already celebrating as the pass sailed out the back of the end zone.
The comeback was especially striking because Wisconsin has spent much of the Fickell era struggling to solve ranked opponents. Nine of the 13 ranked losses in his tenure had come with the Badgers scoring 14 points or fewer, and the program opened its wallet to try to fix the quarterback issue. Wisconsin reportedly paid north of $2 million to land Joseph from Old Dominion, betting on a dual-threat passer who could change games.
For three quarters, though, that investment looked like a disaster. Joseph missed Josiah Zayas on a throw to the flat, and that mistake became a 51-yard pick-six.
It was the second interception return for a touchdown against a power-conference opponent this season for Joseph. He then compounded the damage by telegraphing and missing a sideline throw that Daryus Dixson intercepted.
That takeaway led to a 24-yard return and a three-yard touchdown run by Brecht that pushed Penn State ahead 17-0 with 10:29 left in the second quarter.
Wisconsin did show a pulse before halftime, putting together an 11-play, 75-yard drive that trimmed the deficit to 17-7. But the offense went quiet again after the break. None of the Badgers’ first five second-half possessions gained more than 30 yards, and Joseph threw a third interception on the first play of a fourth-quarter drive.
Even then, Wisconsin’s defense kept the game within reach. Penn State managed only six second-half first downs and finished with 248 yards and 3.8 yards per play. That gave Joseph and the offense just enough room to make a final push.
The rally began when Joseph hit Eugene Hilton for an 11-yard touchdown on third-and-10 with 3:31 left, cutting the margin to three. After Wisconsin’s defense forced a fourth straight three-and-out, Joseph got one more chance and made it count, finding Harris for the winning score.
Linebacker Mason Posa led the defensive effort with 12 tackles, including eight solo stops, and earned the game’s top billing for a unit that handled a top-15 efficient offense. There was also a scare for Wisconsin when Abu Sama, who had been declared healthy after missing last week’s win over Eastern Michigan, punched the turf after being tackled with 5:19 left in the second half. He walked off under his own power but did not return and finished with 34 yards on five carries.
One small note also stood out late in the first half: Wisconsin, which leads the nation in blocked kicks, had forced a three-and-out with 25 seconds left before halftime, and Fickell chose not to use a timeout as the clock ran out.
Wisconsin now turns to its Big Ten home opener next Saturday against Michigan State. The Spartans have beaten Eastern Michigan 35-7 and lost at Notre Dame 27-10 in their two common opponents with the Badgers.
The game will kick off at 11:30 p.m. CT and air on the Big Ten Network.
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