After a nightmarish early two-game stretch in which the Wisconsin Badgers lost brutal contests to the Alabama Crimson Tide and USC Trojans (as well as their starting quarterback), things seemed a bit bleak as far as a successful 2024 season. Many saw three or four wins (or fewer) as the team’s ceiling going forward.
But, after back-to-back-to-back impressive outings in which they outscored Purdue, Rutgers, and Northwestern by a combined 117-16 to get to 5-2, Wisconsin’s outlook is suddenly looking a lot brighter.
Next up is the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions, who stand at 6-0 and are having a very impressive campaign, looking locked and loaded to make a run at a Big Ten title down the stretch. They’ll swagger into Camp Randall Saturday as the favorite and likely feel very confident. So, what can we expect to see?
Best Case: Even with an objectively impressive season so far, I’m not 100 percent convinced that Penn State and their former five-star quarterback Drew Allar are truly elite. Their ESPN Strength of Schedule is a marginal 70th country, and their most celebrated win came in overtime over the-now plummeting USC.
So, in a best-case scenario, the Badgers come in with an impressive game plan, run effectively, create turnovers, and simply out-execute the Nittany Lions (who may be looking ahead to Ohio State in Happy Valley next week) on the way to a 26-23 upset and Luke Fickell’s first signature win as Wisconsin’s coach.
Worst Case: Look, Penn State’s schedule has been softer than PJ Fleck in his bedroom after losing an Axe game, but the reality is that they’re still a very talented and well-coached team.
Although not likely, it’s possible that Penn State comes in and simply steamrolls the Badgers by being better in all three phases of the game and leaving the name Tyler Warren haunting Wisconsin fans for weeks after a 33-13 dusting.
Most Likely: Wisconsin comes in hungry, motivated, and playing good football and trades punches with Penn State all evening.. As much as I want to call a Badger win here (and I did just that in my Scary Alvarez Podcast this week, picking a Bucky win), this is about what is most likely, not about what my personal feelings are.
And, objectively, this is a game the Badgers should still probably lose. So, here, Penn State escapes 27-20. A moral victory for us but not one person in the Wisconsin locker room will see it that way.
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