Box Score
It is frustrating how obvious the poetic irony is.
At one point during a commercial break during Penn State’s game against Wisconsin, the Nittany Lion took center stage for one of his usual skits, something he usually does once per game.
The theme for the evening’s skit: Groundhog Day.
A few hours later, Penn State would lose to Wisconsin, 24-20. Its passing offense was anemic. Its defense was good enough until it wasn’t.
It felt like Groundhog Day all over again.
Penn State fans have frustratingly become used to this. Penn State plays its nonconference schedule in convincing fashion. It did that this season with three wins and for 10 of those 12 quarters, it was by far the dominant team.
Penn State fans have seen this before. Penn State’s passing offense – which in those 12 previous quarters had seemed to turn a corner – didn’t have a reliable option at wide receiver.
And Penn State fans have dealt with this before. Penn State’s defense played strong, creating three well-timed turnovers, including one that resulted in a pick six and another that resulted in a touchdown on the ensuing drive. But when it mattered most – especially late in the second half – Penn State’s defense couldn’t get off the field.
It was a frustrating feeling as the homecoming crowd descended the steps of Beaver Stadium because much of this feeling was supposed to be left in the past. Matt Campbell would fix those problems.
On his first opportunity to do so, he did not.
He coached the game conservatively and at one point took a mind-boggling timeout at the start of the fourth quarter to pull his offense off the field in favor of his punt team on a 4th-and-1.
When Penn State – after a Tony Rojas interception in the fourth quarter – needed to put the game away, Penn State’s offensive playcalling also became sheepish.
It was that attitude that allowed the Badgers to roar back from a 17-0 hole at one point to outscore Penn State 24-3 after that.
Penn State’s offense – playing without Koby Howard for the first time this season – was hamstrung by Rocco Becht’s inability to spread the wealth. Only one Penn State wide receiver saw more than one target (Chase Sowell) and only one tight end caught more than one pass (Ben Brahmer). Though overall, Penn State could not complete many passes, as Becht went just 12-for-29, the worst completion percentage performance by a Penn State QB with 10-or-more attempts in a game since Christian Hackenberg’s 12-for-29 outing against Ohio State in 2024.
And what only added to the familiarity was inconsistent playcalling that never settled the quarterback into the game.
Penn State held the ball for more than nine minutes in the third quarter but only mustered three points. That was built upon earlier in the game when Penn State failed to score a touchdown on their first trip to the red zone, stalling out from a drive that started on the Wisconsin 40-yard line. The deep passing ability that Becht has shown throughout the earlier part of the season was non-existent on Saturday and a clunky run game only compounded the issues.
As Wisconsin chipped away at the Penn State lead, Penn State’s defense could not find a respite from the Penn State offense. The time of possession flipped in the fourth quarter when, even in spite of several false start penalties that backed the Badgers deep in their own side of the field, Penn State failed to get a crucial stop on 2nd and 19 from the Wisconsin 6-yard line up four. A screen pass on that play resulted in a 25-yard gain, creating the crack in the foundation, and the 72-yard touchdown a few plays later with 1:13 left by Wisconsin’s Jacob Harris broke it.
What came rushing in was a familiar feeling for Penn State fans. Even with a potential game-winning drive ahead of the Nittany Lions’ offense, it just felt like it did so many other times in recent years. The same problems. The same result.
Penn State was supposed to leave these types of nights in the past. Yet in the first opportunity in which this era of Penn State football faced one, it was more of the same.
The majority of this season still sits in front of Penn State. But if many of the problems that have plagued its recent pass – late defensive collapses and ineptitude at pass catching – then it truly feels like nothing, not even a groundhog or a mascot seeing its shadow, will stop whatever is causing this.
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