It was a tale of two halves for both Wisconsin units (0-1, 0-1 Big Ten) in their 16-10 season-opening loss to Penn State (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten). The Badgers controlled large portions of the game to no avail as the offense stalled in the red zone early and often.
In front of a packed Camp Randall stadium, both offenses were stuck in the mud early. Jim Leonhard and Wisconsin’s defense controlled the line of scrimmage as LB Jack Sanborn starred in a first half where he had 2 tackles for loss and a sack. The Badgers had their early chances offensively, but two second-quarter drives to the red zone netted a total of 0 points.
The errors were a combination of stout Penn State coverage and self-inflicted wounds as the Badgers had penalties, miscommunications, and missed throws that stalled drives.
The most consistent Wisconsin offense ran through new RB Chez Mellusi, who carried the ball 31 times for 121 yards and the lone Badger touchdown.
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While the Badger defense dominated the first half en route to a 0-0 halftime score, Penn State took advantage of the Wisconsin secondary early in the third quarter. Early in the third quarter, Sean Clifford connected with Jahan Dotson for a 49-yard strike to give the Nittany Lions a 7-0 lead on a blown coverage from Wisconsin.
The Badgers responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive to tie things up in the third. On a day where Graham Mertz and the offensive line struggled to get comfortable, both Mertz and his line came together to find some rhythm for that lone touchdown drive.
After the two sides traded field goals, Wisconsin’s secondary was burned again by Dotson to set up a Noah Cain 2-yard touchdown run that ended with a missed extra point. After Penn State took a 16-10 fourth-quarter lead, Wisconsin had their chances over the final 10 minutes.
Mertz again led the Badgers to the red zone just to come up empty in a goal-to-go situation. On Wisconsin’s final drive that started with just over a minute left, the Kansas native through his second interception of the day to end Badger comeback hopes. Mertz finished 22-37 on the day with 185 yards passing. He threw 2 interceptions and no touchdown passes.
Wisconsin falls to 0-1 for the first time since 2015. Next up for the Badgers is another home battle against Eastern Michigan on September 11.