Penn State Football: Nittany Lions host Wisconsin in must-win game

Penn State football returns home this week for a must-win game against Wisconsin. 

What once looked like a meaningful, late-season game in the Big Ten has turned into just a normal game featuring two average teams. Penn State football had high expectations heading into this season, but now sits at 6-3 and faces a must-win game against Wisconsin to salvage the season this week.

Penn State fell to No. 21 in the AP Poll after a demoralizing, 42-7 loss at Michigan. The loss was the third on the year for the Nittany Lions and their third in the last five games.

An offense that was among the best in the nation earlier in the season has turned anemic and uninventive. The Nittany Lions have had trouble moving the ball on a consistent basis, and were completely shut down this past week against Michigan’s top defense.

Senior quarterback Trace McSorley was injured two weeks ago against Iowa and wore a knee brace in the Michigan game. It was obvious that he was hindered by the injury and misses a large portion of time against the Wolverines.

Head coach James Franklin is never forthcoming about injuries, so there likely won’t be much clarity on the status of his star quarterback heading into Saturday.

Like Penn State, Wisconsin finds itself in unexpected territory. The Badgers were a popular pick this year for one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff, but quickly had their season derailed with a loss to BYU in Week 3 and later losses to Michigan and Northwestern.

Although currently unranked, Wisconsin’s run game presents a big challenge to the Penn State defense. The Nittany Lions were torched for over 200 rushing yards by Michigan, and Wisconsin boasts Jonathan Taylor, who is coming off 208 yards and three touchdowns last week.

A New Year’s Six bowl is already out of the picture for Penn State, and another loss will also knock the Nittany Lions out of the running for any remaining prestigious bowl games. With three games remaining, the Nittany Lions still have an opportunity to finish with a respectable 9-3. However, beating the Badgers is a musth this week.

Penn State and Wisconsin are tied at 9-9 in the all-time series, with Penn State leading 4-3 in games at Beaver Stadium. The last time the two schools met was in the 2016 Big Ten Championship, a game that the Nittany Lions won.