Penn State Football Stock Up, Stock Down Report After That Collapse vs. Wisconsin

Penn State’s grueling 24-20 loss to Wisconsin is still hard to believe. According to ESPN’s probability metric, the Nittany Lions had a 98.5 percent chance to win the game with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. So much for that.

So whose stock could possibly be up after that loss? We highlighted two stock boosts and two stock deflations, starting with a player who has looked like the best version of himself just one year after a major injury.

Stock up: Linebacker Tony Rojas

Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Tony Rojas (13) reacts after intercepting a pass vs. the Wisconsin Badgers. — Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Tony Rojas (13) reacts after intercepting a pass during the fourth quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Is anyone playing better than Rojas on Penn State’s defense? Or even on the entire team? Maybe cornerback Audavion Collins, who had a career-best three pass breakups on Saturday, but Rojas’ impact has been undeniable.

The redshirt junior looks like he hasn’t lost a step since returning from the torn ACL he sustained last year. He has 22 tackles (four for loss), two sacks and two interceptions through just four games. The fourth-year linebacker is on pace to shatter his personal bests in all four of those categories.

Despite the team’s fourth-quarter defensive collapse, Rojas put together arguably his best game of his career. The 6-2, 236-pound linebacker was all over the field with his elite speed, recording six tackles (two for loss), a sack and an interception that, if Penn State’s offense scored on the ensuing drive, would’ve sealed the game.

Rojas has been Penn State’s best player this season, according to Pro Football Focus, with an average grade of 84.9 through four games. PFF ranks an 85+ grade as “elite,” and Rojas has been that.

Stock up: Running back James Peoples

Penn State Nittany Lions running back James Peoples (1) runs with the ball against the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Peoples rushed for a career-high 67 yards on Saturday and took over the lead role from Carson Hansen by the second quarter. The Ohio State transfer emerged as Penn State’s most productive back against Wisconsin, rushing for 4.8 yards per carry while no other Nittany Lion reached three.

The junior now leads the team in rushing with 199 yards (5.4 yards per carry), and he’s tied Cam Wallace for the team lead in rushing touchdowns (two). The one knock on Peoples is that he hasn’t created many explosive plays.

His longest rush is 16 yards, tied for the lowest at running back with Hansen. Peoples has been the most consistent back, though. And while it seems like whoever has the best week of practice gets the lead role on Saturdays, it’s hard to argue against anyone taking that from Peoples at least this weekend against Northwestern.

Stock down: Quarterback Rocco Becht

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht (3) looks to throw a pass against the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Becht statistically had one of the worst games of his career against Wisconsin. He finished Saturday with a 71.8 passer rating (the lowest of his career), 114 passing yards, zero touchdowns and one interception.

He never got into rhythm, never completed more than two consecutive passes and finished with a 41-percent completion rate. Maybe even more concerning, however, was how Becht struggled to spread the ball around. Chase Sowell was the only wide receiver to catch a pass, and tight end Ben Brahmer and running back Quinton Martin Jr. were the only other players to record receptions.

It was pretty much just Sowell from the second quarter until midway through the fourth, too. Brahmer caught three passes for 33 yards on the first two drives and didn’t catch another until the 2:42 mark of the fourth quarter.

The most troubling statistic, though, came from the drive chart. Protecting a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, Becht and his offense had three possessions in the final frame with the lead. The Nittany Lions burned just 4:17 of game clock on those drives, leaving their defense tired and more susceptible to mistakes.

Becht needs to flip the switch fast, as he gears up to face Northwestern, which barely lost to No. 6 Indiana on the road last week.

Stock down: Penn State's offensive playcalling

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

Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser played Saturday on the conservative side, something that didn’t happen often through his first three games at Penn State. His go-to moves on third-and-long were run plays, and Penn State even conceded a two-minute drill at the end of the first half, allowing the clock to drain after an early penalty.

Penn State also was passive on fourth-and-1 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, choosing to punt after a timeout. “I wish we could’ve went for that,” Peoples said after the game.

Penn State seemed to be playing not to lose rather than to win, relying on a defense that dominated through three quarters. Or maybe the coaching staff knew it wasn’t Becht’s day and felt like it was more important to limit the turnover risk.

It certainly wasn’t an expected game plan, especially from an offensive coordinator who advertised his scheme as trying to “create explosives in the pass game and on the ground.” Campbell even called Mouser a “fearless” playcaller in the offseason. It’s hard to say that was true against Wisconsin.

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