Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell just did something that hasn't happened since 2003... a Wisconsin win in Happy Valley. He did it in spite of his quarterback throwing three interceptions, with two of them leading to immediate scores (one was a pick-six). It was a brutal game for the Wisconsin offense, but they did just enough, and the defense was incredible, to win the game in incredible fashion.
"I can't describe it right now," an emotional Fickell said after shocking Penn State. "The way they came back and we kept fighting - we saw it a little bit at the end of the year last year, and this is what we are, and this is who we need to be. We could make it a lot cleaner, but I'm so proud of these guys. This is something I don't think a lot of people thought was going to happen. I know a lot of people, maybe back home, didn't know it either, but this team is getting better."
The Badgers were down 17-0 early in the game, 14 of those points thanks to bad, ugly, no-good interceptions from Joseph. However, the defense continued to keep the Badgers in it, and Wisconsin was able to find ways to make it happen. Colton Joseph found tight end Jacob Harris wide open with less than two minutes left to seal the deal. Well, sort of.
It was actually the defense that sealed it in the end when Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht threw up hail mary after hail mary to the back of the end zone in an effort to find a way to win. The Badgers were up four points with a 24-20 lead and they had no other options.
Luke Fickell and Colton Joseph both spoke after the game about how this epic comeback happened
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The Badgers are back, and the defense helped them win this game. Luke Fickell also reinforced his belief in Colton Joseph. He said that Joseph still has it in him and can still get it right. But he was very honest that the Badger signal caller was bad and threw some ugly balls. He still believes Joseph can get it right.
“I mean, the guy’s not rattled,” Fickell said of his quarterback. “He didn’t play great, threw some pretty bad balls, but we talked about complementary football, and we talked about having each other’s back. The defense stepped up and had their back, and let the offense get some things going, and good things can happen. Colton’s got the ability in him; we got the ability; we just have to find our confidence and find our rhythm.”
Joseph also joined the Peacock crew after the game, and he said, "The teammates didn't lose their faith in me; I didn't lose my faith in them...It was great to have everyone stay in the fight the whole game." He was bad, but somehow they made it happen. It was good to hear him admit that he "shot himself and his team in the foot."
This was the largest comeback win for Wisconsin since 2007, and it was the first Big Ten win of the season and the first ranked win this year. Is Wisconsin back? They may be back, and if they can beat Penn State, is nine wins out of reach? Who knows? No one saw this as a win on the schedule, and yet here we are.
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