Grading Each Phase of Wisconsin's Spectacular Win Over No. 13 Penn State

In truly remarkable fashion, Wisconsin went into Beaver Stadium, looked completely helpless for a large portion of the game, and will fly back to Madison with a victory.

It’s a weird game to grade because of how bad it was for stretches, but it’s hard to give out bad grades when you win at Penn State. Throughout the week, Badgers On SI will go into more depth analyzing the performance of each unit, but because of the victory, these grades are certainly on a curve.

Here’s how I assessed each phase of the game.

Offense: C+

This was easily the hardest grade I’ve had to assign all season. Colton Joseph was abysmal for a large part of this game. Besides the lone first half scoring drive, until the fourth quarter, it was one of the worst quarterback performances Wisconsin has had in a while, and that’s saying a lot.

There’s plenty of questions to be asked on that front, but in Happy Valley, Joseph helped orchestrate the comeback and the Badgers scored enough points to win in Beaver Stadium, which most teams don’t do.

Outside of Joseph’s turnover struggles, there were a lot of good schemes from Jeff Grimes and big plays from a number of players.

Jacob Harris had the play of the night obviously, and likely the play of the Fickell era. On his 72-yard game-winner, he showcased his ability to find a seam in the defense, shake off smaller defenders and run in the open field, but he had four other catches. None that jumped off the page, but his continued ability to be a reliable target for Joseph can’t go unnoticed, and he’s permanently etched his name into Wisconsin history.

Darrion Dupree is also deserving of appreciation. When Abu Sama went down, he came in and once again ran the ball hard, helping the offense finally find its footing. He ran for 52 yards on eight carries and added 44 yards receiving, including a big screen play late. He’s continued to look like a more complete back this season for Grimes, and with Sama’s health in question, may continue to play a key role.

The final individual I want to mention is Eugene Hilton Jr. He had just two catches, but they were big ones. His first grab came early on a crafty play from Grimes and the second was obviously the touchdown grab. I’d like to see him get more touches, but it’s clear he’s still one of the most talented players in the room and he came up big last night, even in a small dose.

Wisconsin's Darrion Dupree. — Sep 26, 2026; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Darrion Dupree (6) runs with the ball during the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Like I said earlier, the offense did enough to win in Happy Valley, that’s all there really is to say. But I wanted to specifically mention Harris, Dupree and Hilton. Joseph has a ton to clean up, but the Badgers got it done and I’m withholding my harsh judgement at least for the night.

Defense: A+

You simply can not say enough about the effort from Mike Tressel’s group on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions managed just one drive of more than 50 yards and the Wisconsin defense is largely responsible for that.

Penn State’s lone offensive touchdown came off one of Joseph’s interceptions and it needed to go just 11 yards to find the end zone. This was an absolutely dominant effort from the defense.

Earlier in the week I’d mentioned the lack of explosiveness in Penn State’s ground game and Wisconsin exploited that. The run defense was simply phenomenal, led by the superstar sophomore duo of Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano who posted 12 and nine tackles, respectively.

Even when the Wisconsin offense was going nowhere, it felt like Penn State struggled just as much. The Badgers kept the Nittany Lion running backs from reaching the second level, forcing Matt Campbell to have to rely on Rocco Becht more than he probably would’ve liked.

Becht was 12-of-29 on the night for just 114 weeks, and for the second consecutive week, the defense came up with an interception. This week, it was big Charles Perkins off of a deflection from Hammond Russell IV, who was absolutely exceptional.

Russell tallied 1.5 sacks, with Sebastian Cheeks joining him for 0.5. Albeit just two total sacks, it felt like Wisconsin got pressure with regularity, forcing Becht out of the pocket where he’s much less comfortable, leading to struggles offensively.

Wisconsin's Mason Posa tackles Penn State's Chase Sowell. — Sep 26, 2026; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver Chase Sowell (0) makes a catch as Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Mason Posa (8) attempts to strip it away during the first quarter against the at West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In the secondary, Javan Robinson had a breakout game. He finished with three passes defended, including a couple of Penn State’s last-hope drives, helping secure the upset win. The secondary had been relatively underwhelming this season and Robinson, who was the biggest addition, had been quiet. Saturday night, he proved why Wisconsin viewed him as a go-to guy in the secondary.

There will be much more to come throughout the week on what the defense showed against the Nittany Lions, but for now, it receives the highest grade of any unit this season.

Special teams: B+

Penn State clearly emphasized not letting the Badgers get home on punts, and it worked, but the special teams were once again very good.

Gavin Lahm had just one short field goal attempt, which he made, so nothing to report on his end, but any time you have a clean operation and put points on the board in that kind of environment, it’s a win.

How about Sean West? He’s been a headliner for Wisconsin throughout the season, especially against Notre Dame, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Last night, he was great once again and thankfully for the Badgers, so were other players so you don’t leave the game with nobody to praise but the punter.

Wisconsin's Gavin Lahm. — Sep 26, 2026; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Wisconsin Badgers kicker Gavin Lahm (97) kicks the extra point during the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

He averaged 47.5 yards per kick, putting three inside the 20 and his longest punt travelled 58 yards. Penn State’s offense didn’t do much no matter where it started on the field, but I mentioned West in my key matchups this week and how Wisconsin needed to give its defense long fields to work with, and West did so.

If the special teams had come up with a score or block, this grade would be an A, but there weren’t any back-breaking miscues from Bob Ligashesky’s units, so I went B+.

Overall: A+

I’m going to keep this really short. There’s so much to say about how ugly this game was for a while, but also how spectacular the defense was. But instead of trying to condense that to a few paragraphs, I’m going to close with just one sentence.

The Wisconsin Badgers marched into Penn State, looked completely hopeless, yet left with a win, and you can’t ask for anything more than that.

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