What We Learned From Penn State's Bewildering Week 4 Loss to Wisconsin

STATE COLLEGE | Penn State cornerback Audavion Collins leaned forward on his knees, his hands latched onto the ground, as he watched Wisconsin’s Jacob Harris lumber into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

Harris’ 72-yard, fourth-quarter score stamped a grueling loss, one in which Penn State blew a 17-0 lead and was outgained 208-37 in the fourth quarter. So here’s what we learned from the Nittany Lions’ gut-wrenching, 24-20 loss to the Badgers. Not much of it was good.

Penn State’s offense is in trouble without Koby Howard

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht (3) runs with the ball against the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Saturday was the Penn State offense’s first test without star receiver Koby Howard, who was sidelined with an undisclosed injury. It’s safe to say the Nittany Lions failed it.

The offense scored one touchdown, in the second quarter, after being given a short field at the Wisconsin 11-yard line. Quarterback Rocco Becht looked out of sync all night, and no one really stepped up as a safe target offensively.

“We really struggled to find the rhythm,” Campbell said. “I think in the first half we were backed up and even got to the goal line and never got in to score. I feel like it led to the second half of the football game, kind of being in the same spot. We just struggled.”

Becht is the most experienced quarterback in college football but didn’t look it on Saturday. He missed throws short, high and behind his receivers all night. He threw for 114 yards and finished with the lowest passer rating (71.8) of his career.

Maybe the most troubling part of Becht’s performance was how he played in the fourth quarter. He was advertised as clutch, but with a 10-point lead, Becht and the offense drained just 4:17 off the clock in three drives, leaving the defense on the field for an extended period of time.

His decision-making was even subpar, throwing it into triple coverage several times and trying to fit the ball into wide receiver Chase Sowell on a slant route. Had he not dropped it, Wisconsin linebacker Cooper Catalano would have had a pick-6

“Being up 17-0, you feel like you have the game in hand,” Becht said. “But at the end of the day, we didn't do enough on offense. The defense did an amazing job today, getting three turnovers. We just couldn't do enough on offense on my part to move the ball down the field and put the dagger in it.”

Penn State should not have been that limited without Howard. But offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, known for taking risks, didn’t scheme much for Becht to throw downfield. He also was very passive, conceding a two-minute drive to end the first half and consistently running the ball on 3rd-and-long.

With Howard, the outcome is probably different. That’s alarming, considering that Campbell said the receiver will be out for an “extended period of time.”

“The one thing Koby has done a great job of is he's made great plays,” Campbell said. “And he's had the ability to make some of those plays that were available [tonight], and he's made some of those plays. So I'd be a fool to sit up here and say, man, we didn’t miss Koby.”

Penn State doesn’t have a clear vision for the run game

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

Penn State yet again used all four backs on Saturday, but this time did so in the first quarter. Mouser was probably hoping at least one would catch fire and give him a reason to ride the hot hand. That didn’t happen, though James Peoples (14 carries, 67 yards) flashed at times.

“I thought James ran the ball really well today,” Campbell said. “I thought he made some really key plays in some key situations.”

Penn State’s ground game struggled against Wisconsin, generating 119 yards on just 3.3 yards per carry. Becht had the longest run, a 19-yard scramble. No back came close to an explosive play.

Campbell and Mouser are still trying to find an answer to a run game that has been unproductive for four weeks now. And with Howard out, they need to figure something out quickly.

As a last-ditch effort, Mouser started running Becht more often. Becht ran 10 times for 22 yards and a touchdown. Nothing really opened up from it, though. And now, time is a concern.

“I thought the running game offensively, it was choppy, and I wish I could tell you it was better,” Campbell said. “You guys, I think all know that you've seen us play. That's not the rhythm that we want to play in, and we're going to have to do better.

" I think it was choppy all around from running backs to the receivers to the O-line. There's got to be that significant improvement to be the team we need to be.”

Penn State can’t leave things to chance

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

If you look closely at Harris' fourth-quarter touchdown, safety Marcus Neal Jr. didn’t just fall down, like Campbell and teammate Jeremiah Cooper said he did after the game. Harris shoved Neal with his right arm around the 30-yard line, a potential offensive pass interference that wasn’t called.

But after holding a 17-0 lead in the second quarter and a 10-point lead in the fourth, Penn State gave Wisconsin a breath. It gave the Badgers a chance, and they took advantage.

“I think we had a guy slip on the broken play and again, that play, that situation, it's the narrative of the second half,” Campbell said. “We left chances, and we had so many opportunities to put the game away, and we just didn't take advantage of those opportunities.

“Obviously, that play will stick out. But the reality of it is, defensively, I thought we played a
tremendous football game. We gave ourselves every opportunity to win the football game, and we didn't take advantage as a team when we had the opportunity to do that.“

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