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The calendar turning to September can only mean one thing; the return of college football. On Saturday, we got one heck of a matchup to get the season started for Penn State as they head on the road to take on Wisconsin Badgers. This is the second year in a row Penn State will start the season with a conference opponent on the road, and Penn State is hoping this one goes better than last year’s experience. Penn State came up on the wrong end of a controversial ending at Indiana with an overtime loss that set off a string of unfortunate events for the Nittany Lions.
In 2020, Penn State had one of their strange seasons under head coach James Franklin. Penn State lost their first five games of the season, a first in program history, and win their last four to end the season on a winning note. But Penn State opted not to participate in any bowl game. Meanwhile, Wisconsin also did not have the same kind of success they were hoping to have last season. The Badgers went 4-3 and topped Wake Forest in a bowl game in which they defeated Wake Forrest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
The Nittany Lions are 10-9 all-time against the Badgers , and this year’s game looks to be a close one as well. Penn State is an underdog on the road in Madison, but some rankings actually place Penn State ahead of Wisconsin.
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The last time Penn State played the Badgers in Wisconsin was in 2013, and a lot has changed since that last meeting. Penn State was coached by Bill O’Brien (who has since been the head coach of the Houston Texans and is now offensive coordinator for Alabama), and Wisconsin was led by Gary Andersen (who left to coach Orgeon State and is now the head coach at Utah State). Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator was current Baylor head coach Dave Arranda, and he made a stop at LSU in between as the defensive coordinator. Penn State upset the Badgers in the regular season finale behind the finest performance by former quarterback Christian Hackenberg’s career.
One of the things to keep an eye on for Penn State will be quarterback Sean Clifford, who has been the main focal point of preseason discussions revolving around Penn State all offseason. Clifford had a bumpy 2020 season and has his third offensive coordinator in three years with the addition of Mike Yurcich.
Penn State has all of the right ingredients in place to perform better this season, but an opening test at Wisconsin will go a long way in showing just how smoothly things are operating in all areas. It’s a good even matchup for the Nittany Lions, and it all gets underway at noon eastern on Saturday in FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff game. Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt should have plenty to say about this one.
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