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Know Your 2018 Penn State Football Enemy: Wisconsin

By Dylan Burd

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 03: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions is chased out of the pocket by T.J. Watt #42 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the first quarter of the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 3, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 03: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions is chased out of the pocket by T.J. Watt #42 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the first quarter of the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 3, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images) /
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Penn State will take on Wisconsin on November 10th for the first time since the Nittany Lions beat the Badgers in the 2016 Big Ten Championship.

The 2016 Penn State-Wisconsin Big Ten Championship was an instant classic, as the Nittany Lions came back down from a score of 28-7 to win the game 38-31. Penn State fans will never forget Grant Haley’s stop of Corey Clement on fourth and one to clinch the first Big Ten Championship for Penn State since 2008.

However, both Penn State and Wisconsin will have very different teams in 2018 than they did  2016. What does remain the same is the way each team is built. The Wisconsin Badgers are an old-school team built around a strong offensive line and running game. They’ll win a lot of low-scoring football games as their defense is very strong too.

Penn State is built around a high-powered offense with Trace McSorely still at quarterback (384 yards and four TDs in the 2016 Big Ten Championship game).

The Badgers are coming off a 12-0 regular season where they then lost to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship. Head Coach Paul Chryst & co went on to win the Orange Bowl over the Miami Hurricanes 34-24.

In the 2017 season, the Badgers ranked 23rd in the FBS in rushing yards per game (222.9) led by star running back Jonathan Taylor. As a freshman, Taylor ran for 1368 yards and 12 TDs, and will very much be in the race for the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore in 2018.

In addition, Wisconsin has three offensive linemen that are projected to be first round picks in the 2019 draft: Michael Deiter, Beau Benzschawel, and David Edwards. All of them have been on All-America teams. Furthermore, sophomore center Tyler Biadasz was a Freshman All-American in 2017.

Penn State is going to have to get creative on defense in order to stop the running game, while also putting pressure on Wisconsin’s junior quarterback Alex Hornibrook. Hornibrook threw for 25 touchdowns in 2017, but also threw 15 interceptions.

If the Nittany Lions can force Hornibrook to turn the ball over like he did a lot in 2017, I like their chances to win this game in front of the home crowd at Beaver Stadium.

Next. Quarterback Trace McSorley on AP Preseason All-America Team. dark

In the first AP Poll, Wisconsin is ranked No. 4, while Penn State is ranked No. 10, so this late season matchup could be nearly as important as the 2016 Big Ten Championship was as it will likely determine Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff fates.

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