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N O V E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 3 he isn't getting the ball, he dictates the way defenses have to approach Penn State. Franklin said a@er the game that he expects Barkley to "have a great week and prepare and be ready to play this week based on what I know." But, in keeping with his policy, the Lions' coach didn't say anything about the type of in- jury Barkley suffered or its severity. Penn State has built some backfield depth over the past two seasons, and this may be the moment when it's called upon. Wisconsin is fielding the Big Ten's best run defense, allowing only 100.8 yards per game and 3.3 yards per carry, so regardless of who's in the backfield, this will be one of the Nittany Lions' biggest tests of the season. • Penn State's defense couldn't get off the field in the first half, as Michigan State put together drives of 12, 11, 13 and 14 plays. "We didn't play the way we wanted to play in the first half," Franklin said. "We kind of got behind the sticks. They had too much success on first and second down, especially at the beginning of drives. We never really got ahead of the sticks the whole first half." THE TAKEAWAY The mood among Penn Staters was eu- phoric a@er Ohio State finished off Michigan in double overtime to eliminate the Wolverines from title contention. But that was nothing compared to the excite- ment that followed the Nittany Lions' victory. The win was the culmination of an as- tonishing regular season, one that few saw coming even a@er PSU upset Ohio State at midseason to vault back into the national spotlight. A lot of dominos had to fall for Penn State to get its title shot, and improbably, they did fall, every last one of them. The Nittany Lions won eight in a row a@er opening their confer- ence season with a lopsided loss to Michigan. The Wolverines then suffered an upset loss at Iowa, and then came The Game, in which Ohio State rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to win, 30- 27, shoving their greatest rival out of the title picture and giving Penn State its chance. So… on to Indy. The Nittany Lions have had a couple of fun Big Ten season-cap- pers against the Badgers in recent years, upsetting them 24-21 in 2012 and 31-24 the following year, both games taking place during Bill O'Brien's brief tenure as head coach. But the main thing at stake in those games was a chance to end the sea- son on a positive note. This time, the stakes are a conference title and perhaps even a berth in the playoff, although there are differing opinions about whether a victory over the Badgers would be enough to vault the Lions into the final four. Wisconsin defeated Minnesota, 31-17, on Saturday, having already clinched an appearance in the game thanks to Ne- braska's loss to Iowa the day before. "Coach [Paul] Chryst obviously has done a tremendous job there. Coach [Barry] Alvarez has been there forever. Wiscon- sin has been doing it the right way for a long time," Franklin said, "and we're honored to be able to play them."

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