Week 9: No. 23 Wisconsin (5-2) vs No. 16 Penn State (4-2)
After being blown out by Alabama in their last important home game, the Badgers were quick to state they wouldn't go down easy this time. On the very first play of the opening drive, Chez Mellusi ripped off a 55-yard rush, juking a linebacker out and breaking toward the sideline for the massive gain.
Positioned at the Nittany Lions' 20 yard line, Wisconsin would hand the ball off three straight times to Nate White, who gained merely seven yards, resulting in a 30-yard field goal by Nathaniel Vakos and an early 3-0 lead for the Cardinal and White.
Penn State's first drive was derailed on second down, when James Thompson chased down Drew Allar for a sack, forcing an eventual three-and-out. A 14-yard punt return put the Wisconsin offense near midfield, but the team couldn't pick up a first down, settling for a 56-yard field goal attempt that narrowly missed right.
After forcing another Nittany Lion punt, disaster struck for Tyler Van Dyke and the Badgers, as Van Dyke had an out route intended for Vinny Anthony jumped by Jalen Kimber, who picked off the pass and took it back for six, giving Penn State a 7-3 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter. The interception was Van Dyke's first of the year.
Still, Van Dyke came out firing on the ensuing Wisconsin drive, completing all four of his pass attempts before the drive stalled. There would be no points scored in the second period until the two-minute drill when C.J. Williams returned a punt with 1:13 remaining deep into Penn State territory.
After Van Dyke found Anthony for a moderate gain and rushed for another six yards, Mellusi would finish off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run to put the Badgers ahead 10-7 entering the break.
Neither team threatened to put points on the board early in the second half, until a 3rd and 3 throw from his own nine yard line by Drew Allar was deflected and intercepted by Hunter Wohler, who made a tackler miss and dove into the end zone to give Wisconsin a commanding 17-7 advantage.
Penn State's offense bounced back from the mistake and trudged their way down the field on an 11-play, 62-yard drive capped off by a four-yard Allar rushing touchdown to make it a three-point game with 60 seconds left in the third quarter.
On 3rd and 3 with the third-quarter clock nearing zeroes, Van Dyke found Riley Nowakowski up the seam for a 26-yard gain to put the Badgers in plus territory. They'd run the ball five times in the next six plays, chewing clock and getting all the way down to the four yard line, but Wisconsin couldn't find paydirt, settling for a 21-yard field goal from Vakos.
In a one possession game, the Badgers' defense held strong, keeping the Nittany Lions on their own side of the field on back-to-back possessions, giving the ball back to the offense with over four minutes to play.
Despite starting at their own four yard line, Wisconsin managed to force Penn State to use all three timeouts and marched down the field on the backs of a 19-yard completion to Will Pauling, a 25-yard completion to Bryson Green and a 22-yard run by Chez Mellusi, before a six-yard run on 3rd and 5 allowed Van Dyke and Co. to enter victory formation.
Van Dyke completed 10 of his 12 pass attempts for 156 yards and no touchdowns, while Mellusi corralled 110 yards on 21 carries with a rushing TD. Each of Pauling, Green, Anthony and Nowakowski finished with at least 30 yards and a pair of receptions, with Nowakowski leading the team in both categories with three receptions and 43 receiving yards.
Final: No. 23 Wisconsin 20, No. 16 Penn State 14
Stat Leaders After Nine Weeks:
Passing - Van Dyke: 115/170 (67%) for 1,574 yards and 15:1 TD:INT
Rushing - Mellusi: 149 rushes for 662 yards (4.4 ypc) and 4 TD
Receiving - Anthony: 35 receptions for 548 yards and 6 TD
Tackles - Thomas: 70
Sacks - Pius: 6.0
Interceptions - Delancy: 4