Plus: Rosters, statistics, 4 things to watch
Turn off the faucet: Penn State boasts arguably the most explosive offense in the Big Ten and will test UW’s stingy defense. Led by quarterback Trace McSorley (2,976 passing yards, 21 TDs) the offense has generated 80 plays of 20 yards or longer — 57 pass plays and 23 runs. Tailback Saquon Barkley, the offensive player of the year in the Big Ten, leads Penn State in plays of 20 yards or more with 22 (16 rushing, six receiving). Wide receiver Chris Godwin is next with 14 receptions and tight end Mike Gesicki is third with 11 receptions. UW’s defense has allowed just 40 plays of 20 yards or longer — 31 pass plays and only nine runs. The Nittany Lions live off the big play. They converted only 32.2% of their third-down chances, the No. 12 mark in the Big Ten. They hold the ball an average of 28 minutes 12 seconds per game, No. 10 in the league. Take away the big plays and you cut off the lifeblood of the Penn State offense.
Pressure up the middle: Wisconsin’s outside linebackers, led by T.J. Watt (91⁄2 sacks), Garret Dooley (31⁄2) and Vince Biegel (3), must come off the edges to squeeze the elusive McSorley. Watch closely to see if UW can attack redshirt freshman left tackle Ryan Bates, who started the first 10 games at left guard before shifting outside. McSorley loves to step up into the pocket between the tackles, though, and then press the line of scrimmage before firing the ball down the field to one of his receivers. UW nose tackles Olive Sagapolu and Conor Sheehy need to collapse the pocket and push fifth-year center Brian Gaia back into McSorley’s face. If UW can prevent him from stepping up into a clean pocket, the edge rushers should be able to make plays. “I think the explosive plays come from Trace’s mobility when he is able to step up in the pocket and extend plays,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “He’s also one of those quarterbacks that when he steps up in the pocket, even when he’s kind of on the run, he’s eyes are downfield.”
More turnovers coming? UW has 11 interceptions in the last three games to push its season total to 21, the No. 1 mark in the country. That explosion has helped the Badgers improve their turnover margin to plus-nine, No. 2 in the Big Ten. Taking the ball away from McSorley won’t be easy. The redshirt sophomore has thrown only five interceptions, fewest in the Big Ten and sixth nationally. He averages just one interception every 65.4 attempts.
Penn State owns the second half: Needing a victory over Michigan State in the regular-season finale to clinch a share of the Big Ten East Division title and a berth in the league championship game, the Nittany Lions faced a 12-10 halftime deficit. They scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of the second half en route to a 35-point explosion and a 45-12 victory. Penn State has outscored opponents, 280-105, after halftime. In addition to rolling up 338 yards and 35 points in the second half against the Spartans, Penn State held Michigan State’s offense to 135 yards on eight possessions. “We have done a great job making adjustments at halftime,” Franklin said. “We have got to make adjustments a little bit earlier.”