Wisconsin vs. Penn State Preview

The initial value here would be on Penn State who had a down and unlucky year opening 0-5, and finishing 4-5 outgaining Big 10 opponents by over 100 yards per game, but a deeper dive and I have some serious questions about Penn State that does not allow me to back them here.  Penn State ranked outside the top 50 in rushing success rate allowed last year, and they lose two guys on the DL to the NFL along with another starter due to injury.  There is talent, but no game experience, and I think Wisconsin even with a banged up OL of their own should be able to control this game.

When Wisconsin has the ball it will be up to Graham Mertz to live up to his 5* ranking at QB.  I’m throwing last year out, because he had a shoulder injury, COVID, WR and other injuries throughout the Wisconsin offense.  This offense is projected to play at a much higher level this year, and I think they can have some success here against Penn State based on the fact that Penn State will have an entirely new DL, and they will be playing on the road with an actual crowd for the first time since 2019.

When Penn State has the ball it is not going to be able to run the ball on this Wisconsin front 7, and I think the game ultimately comes down to Sean Clifford.  While Clifford showed some glimpses last year it was nothing special, and he’s showed no willingness to throw the deep ball and gain explosive yardage, which is what you need to do against Wisconsin’s man defense.  It worries me that James Franklin is talking about the backup getting some playing time or wants to get hi playing time.  That tells me that Clifford has not been playing great in camp.