The Wisconsin football team’s first three games gave us plenty of personnel clues. Saturday at Penn State gave us something more useful.
For the first time this season, we saw which players Luke Fickell and his staff trusted in a four-quarter fight against a ranked Big Ten opponent. There weren’t many opportunities to empty the bench or experiment with rotations. Wisconsin played 67 snaps on defense and 67 on offense, and most of the meaningful work went to a relatively tight group.
The result was a 24-20 comeback win over No. 13 Penn State that featured plenty of contradictions.
Colton Joseph threw three interceptions but delivered two clutch fourth-quarter touchdown passes when it mattered most. Wisconsin turned the ball over three times but still outgained Penn State 355-248. The Badgers didn’t generate a ton of sacks, but their defense held Rocco Becht to 129 passing yards and didn’t allow a point in the fourth quarter.
“This game is about winning, and we've talked about it all year long... to see how they handled it, to see how they kept fighting, to see how they didn't give in, I mean, there's a conviction," Fickell said. "We learned a lot about ourselves today.”
Here’s what stood out at every position from Wisconsin’s Week 4 snap counts.
Quarterback
Colton Joseph: 67 snaps
There’s no question who Wisconsin’s QB1 is.
Joseph again played every offensive snap, and Saturday was probably the best example yet of both the upside and volatility Wisconsin signed up for when it handed him the starting job.
He finished 18-of-38 for 235 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 38 rushing yards and a touchdown. PFF gave him a 57.4 overall grade and 57.8 passing grade, with three turnover-worthy plays.
The interceptions were obviously the story for much of the afternoon. Penn State turned them into 14 points, including a pick-six, and Joseph entered the fourth quarter having put Wisconsin in a difficult spot.
Then he helped get them out of it.
Joseph threw both touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, including the 72-yard strike to Jacob Harris that completely changed the game.
One number that stood out was Joseph’s work as a runner. PFF credited him with 49 yards after contact (finished with 38 yards) and five missed tackles forced on 12 rushing attempts, another indication of how much he created with his legs even when the initial running lane wasn’t there.
The staff is going to have to live with some chaos here. Saturday showed why they’re willing to.
