Penn State celebrated a hard-fought victory on the road against Wisconsin, coming out with a 16-10 victory against the Badgers. After the game, head coach James Franklin said in a postgame interview on the field he suspected this game might drive fans of analytics a little crazy because the box score sure tells a different story outside of the final score.
Wisconsin out-gained Penn State 359-297. The Badgers had just shy of 30 first downs (29) while Penn State managed just 11 for the entire game (and had just one at halftime). And Wisconsin kept Penn State’s defense on the field for 42 minutes and 51 seconds.
But Penn State won the turnover battle, 3-0, and made the plays it needed when they needed them the most. So go ahead and scoff at the box score, because the final score is ultimately the only stat that matters.
Here are some key box score stats from the game.
Penn State Offense
Sean Clifford – 18/33, 257 yards and a touchdown
Sean Clifford didn’t look great in the first half. Granted, neither did the rest of the Penn State offense. However, he really started get a rhythm in the second half in a new and revamped offense under Mike Yurcich.
Noah Cain – 8 carries for 48 yards and a touchdown
Cain started to get more comfortable in the second half and after watching this offense today, they need to feed him the ball more.
Jahan Dotson – 5 receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown
As mentioned, Penn State’s offense didn’t really find their groove until the second half and Dotson was a big part of that. He was one of the only playmakers for their offense today, starting with a 49-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.