UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 3/3 Penn State visits Wisconsin on Saturday, October 26 at Camp Randall Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on NBC.
NBC SATURDAY NIGHT: The Nittany Lions are set to make their second appearance on NBC this season after a 21-7 win over Illinois on Sept. 28. Penn State is 9-3 all-time in games broadcast on NBC.
SERIES HISTORY: Penn State meets Wisconsin for the 21st time in program history. Penn State leads 11-9 in the all-time series and has won five-straight matchups in the series. In 2021, the Nittany Lions opened the season with a 16-10 win in Madison. Sean Clifford threw for 247 yards and a touchdown, while Jahan Dotson had five catches for 102 yards and a 49-yard score. Ji'Ayir Brown sealed the game with an interception on Wisconsin's final drive.
WARREN DOES IT ALL: Tight end Tyler Warren set multiple records in Penn State's win over USC. He hauled in 17 receptions for 224 yards and a touchdown, while adding a 4-yard rush and a 9-yard pass. His 17 receptions tied an FBS game record for a tight end, matching New Mexico's Emilio Vallez (1967) and Northwestern's Jon Harvey (1982). The 17 receptions are a Penn State record, bettering DaeSean Hamilton's 14 grabs vs. Ohio State in 2014. Warren's 224 receiving yards are a Penn State and Big Ten tight end record. Warren broke his own record of 146 receiving yards against Bowling Green and joined Harvey (208 yards vs. Michigan, 1982) as the only Big Ten tight ends with 200+ receiving yards in a game.
6-0 START: Penn State is off to a 6-0 start for the second-straight season and is currently the only FBS team who has started 6-0 each of the last two seasons. Liberty could get to 6-0 with a win over Kennesaw State on Oct. 23. The Nittany Lions have started 6-0 for the 26th time in program history and the fourth time under James Franklin.
THE OPPOSITION: Wisconsin is 5-2 this season, including a 3-1 mark in Big Ten play. The Badgers earned a 23-3 win at Northwestern last Saturday. Wisconsin ran for 199 yards and two touchdowns. Tawee Walker led the way with 126 yards on 23 carries. Braedyn Locke threw for 160 yards and a score, while adding a rushing touchdown.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 17 - Tyler Warren tied an FBS record with 17 catches against USC.
- 224 - Warren set a Penn State and Big Ten tight end record with 224 receiving yards against USC and became the second Big Ten tight end with over 200 receiving yards in a game.
- 136 - 136 of Warren's 224 receiving yards against USC came after the catch.
- 15 - Warren caught his 15th career touchdown reception against USC and is tied for second among PSU tight ends with Mike Gesicki.
SCOUTING THE BADGERS
- Luke Fickell is in his second season as head coach at Wisconsin.
- He is 13-8 in his time with the Badgers and has a 76-34 career record.
- Fickell led the Badgers to a 7-6 record and an appearance in the ReliaQuest Bowl in 2023 and was also credited with Wisconsin's win in the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
- Wisconsin is 5-2 this season and 3-1 in Big Ten play.
- The Badgers own wins over Western Michigan (28-14), South Dakota (27-13), Purdue (52-6), Rutgers (42-7) and Northwestern (23-3), while falling to No. 4/4 Alabama (42-10) and No. 13/16 USC (38-21).
- In Wisconsin's win over Northwestern, the Badgers rushed for 199 yards and scored twice on the ground.
- RB Tawee Walker rushed for 126 yards on 23 carries, averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
- QB Braedyn Locke threw for 160 yards and a touchdown, while adding an 8-yard touchdown rush.
- Wisconsin ranks eighth in the Big Ten in scoring offense (29.0), eighth in total offense (406.6), fifth in rushing offense (194.0) and 13th in passing offense (212.6).
- Walker ranks seventh in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game (94.2) and third in rushing touchdowns (9).
- The Badgers sit seventh in the conference in scoring defense (17.6), sixth in total defense (295.7), third in passing defense (155.9) and 14th in rushing defense (139.9).
- LB Jaheim Thomas leads the Badgers with 43 tackles, including one sack.
- S Preston Zachman has 2.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions.
USC NOTES
- The Nittany Lions earned their first win at the LA Memorial Coliseum.
- Penn State improved to 6-0 for the second-straight year. PSU is the only FBS team to start 6-0 in each of the last two seasons.
- Penn State earned its first win in an overtime game since September 1, 2018 against Appalachian State (45-28) and its first win in an overtime game against a Big Ten opponent since October 2, 2016 vs. Minnesota (29-26).
- Penn State won on a game-winning field goal (36-yard kick by Ryan Barker) for the first time since August 30, 2014 against UCF when Sam Ficken hit a 36-yarder.
- Penn State snapped a streak holding four-straight Big Ten opponents to less than 100 rushing yards. USC finished the game with 189 rushing yards.
- PSU broke a streak of five-straight games not allowing a point in the third quarter. USC hit a 39-yard field goal with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
- TE Tyler Warren set a Penn State and Big Ten tight end record with 224 receiving yards (on 17 catches).
- Warren joined Northwestern’s Jon Harvey (208 yards vs. Michigan, 1982) as the only Big Ten tight ends to go over 200 receiving yards in a game.
- Warren’s 17 receptions are a Penn State record and tie Harvey for most by a Big Ten tight end. His 17 receptions also tied an FBS tight end record, set by New Mexico’s Emilio Vallez in 1967 and equaled by Harvey in 1982.
- Warren is the first FBS tight end to go over 200 receiving yards in a game since Utah’s Dalton Kincaid had 234 receiving yards against USC on Oct. 15, 2022.
- Warren’s 224 receiving yards are second-most by a Penn State player, behind only Jahan Dotson’s 242 yards at Maryland in 2021).
- His 17 receptions are the most by an opponent in USC’s 137-year football history.
- QB Drew Allar threw for 391 passing yards, sixth-most in a game by a PSU quarterback and PSU’s most in a game since Sean Clifford’s 401 yards vs. Villanova in 2021.