Instant Analysis: Penn State-Wisconsin

Very early in the second half of Saturday night's matchup in Madison, Wis., two football teams stood virtually even in total yardage. But while both Penn State and Wisconsin covered almost the same amount of real estate, JoePa's boys had already accumulated a 31-7 advantage. On a night when stats lied, the truth became known: Penn State will contend for the Big Ten championship.

Just two minutes into the third quarter at Camp Randall Stadium, the yardage scoreboard read 184-156 in favor of Penn State. Yet, the point scoreboard showed a margin of 24. How did Penn State dominate in the only important number while not blowing away the Badgers in terms of pure offensive firepower? Simply stated, special teams and timely turnovers told the tale.

There wasn’t any guesswork involved in analyzing this quick killing of a Wisconsin team whose season has become a solemn march of misery and melancholy. The Badgers put forth a commendable effort, and Penn State didn’t bring its very best game to the ballpark, a scary thought for Ohio State and anyone else who stands in the way of this proven pigskin powerhouse. Yet, in the blink of an eye, the visitors from Happy Valley had the playmaking studs who could turn on the afterburners and run the Badgers ragged.

Derrick Williams—as in his performance against Illinois a few weeks earlier—returned a punt for a touchdown to bust open this Big Ten battle. On another punt, the mere threat of Williams helped lead to a shank that set up a short field and a Nittany Lion field goal. And in a third and separate situation, a Wisconsin fumble—by beleaguered quarterback Allan Evridge inside his own 20—led to another immediate score by Penn State. The visitors were able to get touchdowns from so many sources that Darryl Clark didn’t need to lead many sustained scoring drives, but on a few occasions, he did break loose on the perimeter while also spreading the ball to his receivers. A little Williams plus a little Clark and a little Wisconsin futility led to a scoreboard blowout despite the nearly even yardage totals.

Penn State passed its first night-game road test in the Big Ten. A home win over Michigan next week is the only thing standing in the way of a perfect conference record for this team when it travels to Ohio State on Oct. 25. With all the weapons at their disposal—displayed with might on this night in Madison—the Nittany Lions won’t figure to be outgunned when they duel with the Buckeyes, in a game that seems likely to decide the 2008 Big Ten title.