Blue White Illustrated

"Jack is all in," Chryst said. "The whole focus will be to do all we can to be ready this week should we need him." Against Rutgers, Coan attempted only seven passes and completed five of them for 64 yards and a touchdown. The Badgers relied on their running game against the Scarlet Knights. Taylor finished with 208 yards to spearhead the 31-17 victory, but Chryst said he thought that Coan acquitted himself well. "When you get a chance to watch it, he certainly had a good feel for the game," the coach said. "Our whole job is, whoever is at quarterback, help them play to the best of their ability. I've liked the way that Jack has prepared all year long, really. If Alex can't go, then he'll certainly be ready." He, or Hornibrook, will have to be ready if the Badgers are going to end a three- game losing streak against Penn State. The most memorable of those games was the most recent one, a come-from-behind 38- 31 Nittany Lion victory in the Big Ten Championship Game two years ago. Mc- Sorley threw for 384 yards that night, while Hornibrook, who had been the Badgers' starting quarterback for much of his red- shirt freshman season, missed the game due to a concussion he suffered the previ- ous week against Minnesota. No matter which Wisconsin quarterback starts this coming Saturday, he will have to beware of a very good Penn State pass rush. The Lions are tied for first in the Big Ten with 29 sacks. "It's a really good defense, certainly up front," Chryst said. "I think they're doing it a number of ways. They're beating guys with clean rushes. Many times when you see sacks, there are other guys disrupting things and another guy finishes it. It's an active front. But they also do a great job of adding in, whether it's linebackers or the secondary. They've got a well-designed scheme. They play fast, and in our opinion, they've got good players doing it. So it's going to be a real good challenge for our whole group." The Lions gave up 42 points last week, but their offensive struggles contributed to that number. Michigan had a pick-six and got another touchdown when a McSorley interception gave them the ball at Penn State's 12-yard line. In addition, because of the Lions' inability to generate first downs on offense, the defense was on the field for 37 minutes. That could be a problem this week, be- cause no matter who lines up under center, the Badgers will be looking to pound away at the Lions on the ground. They're fielding the Big Ten's top rushing offense at 273 yards per game, including 151.4 yards per game by Taylor. Franklin said that the Nittany Lions will prepare as if Hornibrook is going to start at quarterback, but they are mindful that Coan could end up seeing plenty of action, and maybe all of it. "When you know a guy is in a concussion protocol and he's been in it a couple times this year, I think that's challenging [to en- sure that he's fully recovered]," Franklin said. "So I think we had better be prepared for not only the starter, like we always do, but also the backup. "At the end of the day, with them, I don't know how much it will factor in because I think it will start with the run game. It's going to be the run game through the sec- ond and third quarters, and it's going to be the run game in the fourth quarter. It starts and ends with the run game for them, and then obviously they are going to comple- ment it with play-action passes. So we've got to be prepared for those things. I don't really see the style of the game changing based on the quarterback that they have in there." N O V E M B E R   7 ,   2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 3 NATE BAUER 7-2 | Until proven otherwise, I'm off the train when it comes to Penn State's offense and its ability to post 35 or more points with ease. The Nittany Lions just have not produced anything resembling explosive playmaking or efficiency in the latter part of this season. That does not mean, however, that they're out of luck this weekend. Against an opponent that will likely be without its injured starting quarterback, Penn State can rely on its defense to keep in check a one-dimensional Wisconsin rushing at- tack. A recommitment to Miles Sanders could generate dividends for the Lions – enough to get back in the win column at Beaver Stadium. | PENN STATE 23, WISCONSIN 17 PHIL GROSZ 7-2 | Coming off its worst offensive performance in three seasons, Penn State will have a chance to redeem itself playing a Wisconsin team that is more one-di- mensional than usual. The Nittany Lions will still need to have their best performance on defense in their past five games to keep the Badgers' running game under control. Wiscon- sin, as usual, leads the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 273 yards per game and 6.2 per carry. Jonathan Taylor is the conference's top rusher with 1,363 yards on 208 carries and 11 touchdowns. But if quarterback Alex Hornibrook doesn't play, the offense will be one-di- mensional. Also, Wisconsin's defense is not up to its usual top-10 standards. It looks im- pressive statistically, but this is one case in which the numbers lie. This is a game at Beaver Stadium in which Penn State's offense can get healthy aAer four consecutive unimpressive performances. Balance on offense is the key here. | PENN STATE 38, WISCONSIN 21 MATT HERB 7-2 | Wisconsin, with its bludgeoning ground attack, probably isn't the ideal opponent for Penn State aAer a game against Michigan in which its defense was on the field for 37 minutes. But the big variable this week is the PSU offense. The Nittany Lions need to sustain a few drives – maybe more than a few – to win on Saturday. The less they see of Jonathan Taylor, the better their chances. If this game were taking place at Camp Randall, I'd probably feel differently, but playing at home, I think they'll find a way. | PENN STATE 27, WISCONSIN 24 TIM OWEN 7-2 | It's become obvious that James Franklin's teams struggle to rebound aAer defeat, as the majority of his career losses have come in consecutive fashion. Until that trend breaks, I have trouble seeing how Penn State comes out on the winning end of this one, especially since Wisconsin plays a brand of physical football that is similar to Michi- gan's. I've got to go with the away team this week. | WISCONSIN 28, PENN STATE 27 RYAN SNYDER 8-1 | Penn State got exposed against Michigan, but so did Wisconsin. This weekend's game could very well determine who goes to a New Year's Day bowl game, however, so I don't expect Paul Chryst's team to just roll over. The Badgers also have an offensive line that can take advantage of Penn State's lack of depth on defense. When you add in Trace McSorley being injured, this could end up being a tougher test than ex- pected. I'll pick the Lions, mainly because Wisconsin's defense has been poor, but I'm not too confident. | PENN STATE 31, WISCONSIN 21 S T A F F P R E D I C T I O N S

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