Penn State Football Report Card From an Inexplicable Loss to Wisconsin

STATE COLLEGE | Matt Campbell heard boos for the first time Saturday, his third home game as the Penn State football coach. The sound was jarring yet warranted.

The Nittany Lions blew a 17-point first-half lead and gave up touchdowns inside the last 2 minutes of the second and fourth quarters in an unfathomable 24-20 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday.

"Being up 17-0, you feel like you have the game in hand," said Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht, who graded himself harshly afterward. So will we. To the Penn State football report from a inexplicable night at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State offensive grade: F

ONE LAST SHOT FLIES PAST THE END ZONE! THE BADGERS PULL IT OFF!
📺: Big Ten Football: Wisconsin at Penn State on Peacock & NBCSN pic.twitter.com/aHCKeiAA5h
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 27, 2026

Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht's final pass sailed over the photographers behind the end zone, a dismal but fitting to this offensive game. This was a wholesale breakdown by an offense that should not have missed receiver Koby Howard that much.

The Nittany Lions scored one offensive touchdown, on a series they began at the Wisconsin 11-yard line after an interception. With Wisconsin beginning to feel comeback, they went 3-and-out on four straight series in the second half, taking just 2:10 off the clock on two of those drives. Penn State gained 38 yards of offense in the fourth quarter.

Becht (12-for-29, 114 yards) threw for the third-lowest completion percentage (41.4 percent) of his career and connected with only one wide receiver (Chase Sowell, 6 catches for 70 yards). His 71.8 passer rating was the lowest of his career.

The quarterback had no rhythm with his receivers, underthrowing Brett Eskildsen twice on deep shots, but they also didn't help him with any contested catches. Becht targeted the foursome of Eskildsen, Zay Robinson, Andrew Rappleyea and Gabe Burkle nine times with zero completions.

Meanwhile, OC Taylor Mouser's run game was incoherent. He rotated four backs despite James Peoples (14 carries, 67 yards) having the best legs. Quinton Martin Jr. (6 carries, 14 yards) couldn't get anything going, and starter Carson Hansen (4 for 11) was an afterthought.

After their big-play game against Buffalo, the Nittany Lions had one run play longer than 10 yards — a 19-yard scramble by Becht. Campbell said that the offensive game had a "weird flow," attributing the receiving issues to that. But the Nittany Lions did not play "weird" offensive football. They played bad offensive football.

Penn State defensive grade: C+

DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?!
ONCE DOWN 17-0, THE BADGERS LEAD 24-20!

📺 Big Ten Football: Wisconsin at Penn State on Peacock & NBCSN pic.twitter.com/hss1JaeKlE
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 27, 2026

This is what happens when the offense does not play complementary football. Wisconsin's 265-pound tight end Jacob Harris trucks a safety (Campbell said Marcus Neal Jr. fell) and gets free for a 72-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-13.

It was the longest pass play Penn State has allowed this season, by 33 yards, and occurred at simply the worst time. Penn State safety Jeremiah Cooper said there was no excuse for it, but his defense was on the field for nearly 10 minutes of the fourth quarter because of the offense.

"We were up 17-0, and having them come back like that, that's giving them whatever they want to get," Cooper said. "It's just not putting ourselves in that position."

Prior to the fourth quarter, Penn State had held Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph to 10-for-22 passing for 93 yards and two interceptions, including freshman Josiah Zayas' pick-6. Joseph threw another interception, to Tony Rojas, in the fourth quarter that should have ended the game.

But a 3-and-out put Penn State's defense back on the field, and Wisconsin found its magic wand. In the last 7 minutes the Badgers generated touchdown drives of 75 and 85 yards. Joseph completed his touchdown passes on 3rd-and-10 and 3rd-and-13. He also threw a simple pass from his own end zone on 2nd-and-19 that went for 25 yards on the winning drive.

Holistically, as Campbell likes to say, the defense was pretty good. It shook Joseph early, intercepted him three times and hurried him seven times. And then it gave up 208 yards of offense in the fourth quarter.

"I've been in a lot of crazy games, and at the end of the day it is football," Cooper said. "If you think this is going to be a smooth win, you're crazy, especially in this conference."

Penn State special teams grade: B

Penn State Nittany Lions kicker Ryan Barker (94) watches his field goal against the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Really no issues here. Kicker Ryan Barker made two field goals, and punter Nathan Tiyce could have been better but averaged 43 yards on seven attemps with a 54-yarder. Wisconsin did have a 20-yard kickoff return, as did Penn State's Robinson, but special teams weren't the issue.

Penn State coaching grade: D

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell looks on from the sideline vs. the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mouser had a rough night, particularly trying to press his run game into action. His jumbo, four-tight-end package didn't work on the opening drive and he couldn't scheme around Howard's absence.

Campbell, meanwhile, questioned his decision late in the first half to run out the clock rather than taking a swing with his offense and try to extend a 10-point lead.

"We can put some judgment on the head coach," Campbell said. "I felt like we were playing such good defense there that I just didn’t want to put our team at risk. That will eat at me."

What else might eat at him is the decision to punt on 4th-and-short to start the fourth quarter. Campbell also used a timeout before punting, which might have come in handy on that final drive.

Penn State overall grade: D

Wisconsin Badgers players celebrate with the fans following the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Nittany Lions led Wisconsin by 17 points in the first half and by 10 points with 4 minutes left. They should have cruised, or at least limped, to a victory. Campbell loves to learn learn through adversity, and one of his favorite terms is the "storm." He's in one now very early in his Penn State coaching tenure.

Sign up to our free Penn State Nittany Lions newsletter, follow us on social media and add Penn State on SI as a Preferred Source on Google.

Add us as a preferred source on Google