Wisconsin can ruin Penn State's recruiting weekend while Luke Fickell could land 5-star

The Wisconsin Badgers have quite the challenge ahead of them, as to open Big Ten conference play, they will head to Happy Valley and take on the Penn State Nittany Lions. The weight of this game speaks for itself, as it’s one of the many “test” games that head coach Luke Fickell has to prove capable of running out a squad that can compete in, but even beyond that, some bigger things are at stake.

For Penn State specifically, more than 60 potential recruits will be in-house for their homecoming game, which will be one of, if not its single largest recruiting event of the year. Everyone from low three-stars to top players in the class will be in attendance, making the magnitude of this game immeasurable even beyond the on-field result.

This, of course, gives Fickell and Co. a chance to steal the spotlight, as a strong outing could mean deterring some recruits from committing, possibly even swaying some to Madison. That is all wishful thinking, of course, but even the Badgers have some recruiting stakes on the line.

Personal gain

Jelanie George, a five-star recruit in the class of 2028 who Wisconsin has been heavily connected to, is set to commit on Oct. 1. This means that the game this weekend will be George’s final impression of the team before he commits, which is a massive storyline in itself to follow.

George recently placed the Badgers in his top four following a visit to the campus for the Western Illinois game, meaning that, at the worst, Wisconsin is trending in the right direction in landing him. Whether this game will be the deciding factor or not is up to George and his family to decide, but it sure as hell won’t hurt to snag an upset win on the road.

As for playing spoiler, the cards have only continued to fall in the favor of the Badgers, with running back Abu Sama III returning to health ahead of the rubber match against his old coach. Along with that, Malachi Coleman is back and practicing, aiming to make a return by 4 p.m. Saturday.

Along with that, Penn State will be without Koby Howard, its leading receiver by a large margin, with even its third-leading pass catcher, tight end Benjamin Brahmer, being listed as questionable ahead of the matchup.

Even without those two, Wisconsin will really have to dig deep in order to pull off the upset, a notion that has only become more realistic as the days tick on.

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