Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1410640
W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 8 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 OPENING SHOT SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE Penn State hadn't won a road game against a top-15 opponent since its 2013 season finale, the last game of the Bill O'Brien era. But that run of disappointment came to a dramatic end on Sept. 4, when the 19th-ranked Nittany Lions defeated 12th-ranked Wisconsin before a capacity crowd at Camp Randall Stadium. James Franklin was euphoric following his team's season-opening victory, exchanging handshakes and high-fives with Penn State fans who had made the trip to Madison, and even grabbing one fan's hat from his head and donning it briefly before handing it back. The Nittany Lions had struggled on offense in the first half, but their defense was formidable throughout the game. Wisconsin managed only one touchdown despite holding the ball for more than 42 min- utes, running 95 plays and amassing 29 first downs to Penn State's 11. The Lions clinched their victory by coming up with interceptions on the Badgers' last two possessions. "Our defense played really well — played gutsy, played hard," Frank- lin said. "We made big plays when we needed to make them against a really challenging Wisconsin offense." There was a bit of symmetry in Penn State's win. Heading into the season, Camp Randall Stadium had been the site of the Nittany Lions' most recent road victory over a top-15 foe. The Badgers were 14th in the Associated Press poll, while the sanction-depleted Nittany Lions were unranked when the teams met on Nov. 30, 2013. Nevertheless, Penn State left Madison with a 31-24 win. Unlike this year's defensive tussle, the Lions' victory eight years ago was a shootout, with the opposing quarterbacks — Penn State's Chris- tian Hackenberg and Wisconsin's Joel Stave — combining to throw for 678 yards and seven touchdowns. But the result was the same: a surprise PSU road win over a perennially powerful Big Ten rival. History, it's been said, doesn't repeat itself. But sometimes it rhymes. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL