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Penn State looks for key road win at Wisconsin

Oct 11, 2008 - 10:14 AM (6) Penn State (6-0) at (24) Wisconsin (3-2), 8:00 pm EDT

MADISON, Wisconsin (Ticker) -- The last time Penn State visited Wisconsin, Joe Paterno left Camp Randall Stadium with a broken shinbone and two torn knee ligaments after one of his players rolled into him on the sideline.

Paterno and the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions hope to avoid such calamities this week when they return to Wisconsin for a key Big Ten Conference contest Saturday night against the 24th-ranked Badgers.

Penn State (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) is seeking its first 7-0 start since 1997. But before the Nittany Lions can think about playing in the national championship game, they have to clear two major road hurdles.

The first comes this week when they visit Wisconsin (3-2, 0-2), which is coming off its first home loss under third-year coach Bret Bielema. The Badgers have not dropped consecutive home games since 2002.

Penn State's other major road rest takes place on October 25 when it plays at Ohio State, which handed Wisconsin a heartbreaking 20-17 loss last week, scoring in the final minute.

First, the Nittany Lions have to worry about the Badgers, who had won 16 straight at Camp Randall before the loss to the Buckeyes. It had been the second-longest active home winning streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision behind Oklahoma, which has 21 straight victories in Norman.

In its last trip to Wisconsin's capital city in 2006, Penn State managed only a field goal in a 13-3 loss. Before he was injured, Paterno spent most of the first half feuding with the officials.

While Penn State was held 30 points below its season average in last week's 20-6 win over Purdue, the Nittany Lions continue to get stellar play from their one-two punch of quarterback Daryll Clark and tailback Evan Royster.

Clark completed 18-of-26 passes for 220 yards and also rushed for a touchdown against the Boilermakers while Royster gained a career-high 194 all-purpose yards. The sophomore rushed for 141 yards, the fourth time he has surpassed the century mark this season.

Wide receiver Derrick Williams, who had five receptions for 52 yards, passed teammate Jordan Norwood for third on Penn State's all-time receptions list with 136. Norwood missed the Purdue game with a strained hamstring, and his status for this weekend is uncertain.

As its success indicates, Wisconsin always is tough at home. But the Badgers have had trouble closing out games this season, squandering fourth-quarter leads in both of their losses.

In a 27-25 defeat at Michigan on September 25, Wisconsin could not hold on to a 19-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. Last week, the Badgers took a 13-10 lead on P.J. Hill's 2-yard touchdown run with 6 1/2 minutes remaining only to give up a game-winning 80-yard drive.

Wisconsin will be looking to get Hill back on track, as he has been held under 70 yards in each of the last two games.

Despite a last-minute loss to a higher-ranked team, the Badgers were treated harshly by the voters, dropping seven spots in the coaches' poll. Wisconsin joined Iowa and Indiana as the only 0-2 teams in the Big Ten.