October 25, 2024 • 10 mins
In this episode of DisruptU PSU Presents The Penn State Pulse host Dylan Dawson previews the upcoming game between Penn State and Wisconsin. He discusses the potential challenges of a 'trap game' for Penn State, the key players to watch on both teams, and the defensive strategies that could play a crucial role in the outcome. Dawson also shares his predictions for the game, including player performances and final score expectations.
Takeaways
•Penn State faces a tough road test against Wisconsin.
•Trap games can be unpredictable and challenging.
•Execution from the wide receivers is crucial for success.
•Wisconsin's running back, Taui Walker, is a key player to watch.
•Braedyn Locke's performance will be critical for Wisconsin.
•Penn State's defense needs to focus on shutting down the run.
•Nick Singleton could have a breakout game in the pass game.
•Wisconsin's defense has shown improvement recently.
•Dylan predicts a final score of Penn State 30, Wisconsin 20.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome back into the Penn State Pulse. I'm your host.
Still in Dawson. Penn State has an enormous Game seven
this weekend as they traveled to Madison for another tough
road test, this time against the Wisconsin Badgers, a team
that has really started to hit their stride recently. And
of course, this game is sandwiched right between a chaotic
Game six at USC and the looming gate Game eight
(00:29):
matchup with the Buck guys in Beaver Stadium. We'll kick
off at seven thirty Eastern time on NBC, and the
spread is sitting at PSU by six and a half
right now on this thing. According to Andrew Banstra, sorry
if I'm saying that wrong, I believe he just covers Wisconsin,
but according to him, Wisconsin is ten and one in
(00:52):
their last eleven night games in Camp Randall Stadium. This
has trap game written all over a guys, but so
much so that it almost cancels out, if that makes sense.
Penn State's coming off a big emotional win obviously at USC.
They're also coming off of a bye week and PSU
hasn't typically performed well in that situation under Franklin. And
(01:14):
then you have the look ahead factor with the Ohio
State tilt coming up. Trap games, in my opinion, are
called that for a reason.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
They're a trap. You don't see them coming.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
There's just no way that PSU's players and especially staff
are overlooking this thing.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
I'm not saying they're gonna go in there and dominate.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
This is a tough opponent and an extremely tough environment
that the Allions are entering into, and it should be
a dogfight. But I do think our guys will be
focused and ready to go well prepared up there in Madison.
This team is road tested to an extent as well,
which also makes me feel a bit better about this one,
as they topped both both West Virginia and USC on
(01:51):
the road this season thus far. In order for Penn
State to win this game, I think we need to
see a big performance from the wide receivers. Tyler has
been picking up more and more attention from defenses as
the season has progressed. After his monster performance against USC,
I think that's kind of shifted now to where he's
not a guy that you need to gain plan for
(02:12):
as a defensive coordinator.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
He's the guy.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
So we're gonna start seeing teams trying to chip him
at the line, a bunch, double team him, maybe even
bracket him when he's lined up out wide, and that
should be starting this weekend with Wisconsin.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
I think we'll see Weisco stack the box.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
When they can to try and defend the run as well,
and they'll leave their cover guys out there in space
with the PSC wide receivers. So I think this game
comes down to the execution from Drew Aller and the
wide receivers. They should be presented with quite a bit
one on one situations, so can they win them? I
think that comes down A lot of this game comes
(02:48):
down to that. I also think this could be a
pretty get big game from the Backs in the past game.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Nick Singleton in particular.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Of course, with his explosiveness, I think Kyler Nicky will
really push for Singleton in the pass game this Saturday.
Again due to the attention that Tyler Warden will be garnering.
That should open up opportunities for other guys, and that
pass game should be there for the Backs just leaking
out into the flats, maybe little screens thinking dunk that
(03:17):
could turn into a big play with a guy like
Nick Singleton. I'd mentioned earlier that Wisco is starting to
hit their stride. This needs to be taken with a
grain of salt because they didn't exactly play the top
of the conference in that stretch Perdue Rutgers Northwestern, by
the way, for those wondering, that was their last three
in that stretch. Though the Badgers put up thirty nine
(03:37):
points per game and allowed five point three. They've really
had the run game on another level, in particular, going
from one hundred and ninety four team rush yards per
game in their first four games to two hundred and
forty five in their last three, and most of that
success can be attributed to running back Tawie Walker, who
is my first player on the Badgers to watch. So
(03:59):
let's jump into this segment starting with Walker. Don't really
need to tell you how good he is. I'll just
give you his tatlines from his last three games four
point nine yards per carry, ninety four yards and three
touchdowns versus per Due, eight point three yards per carry,
one hundred and ninety eight yards and three touchdowns versus Rutgers,
and then last weekend versus Northwestern, he went one hundred
(04:20):
and twenty six yards on five point five yards per carry.
The Oklahoma transfer is clearly coming into form here, settling
into his new conference in the Big Ten, of course,
with some help from that Whiskey O line. He's a
very physical runner who doesn't shy away from contact. He
also has some decent speed and elusiveness. Just a very
good all around back. So Wisconsin's going to try and
(04:43):
get this kid going early and often on Saturday. So
shutting that down and making their offense one dimensional will
be the number one priority for the Penn State defense.
Wisco has had a healthy amount of explosive plays in
the pass game this season, but most of those have
been play action, just kind of playing off of the
run game, drawing the defense in and then leaking a
guy out in the flat on a wheel route or something,
(05:05):
and just kind of playing off of the run game
getting guys open. Based on that, I think if Brandon
Locke is forced to drop back and go head to
head with PSU's secondary, we will see a very good
showing on the defensive side of the ball for Penn State.
And that is the next name that we'll be looking at,
which is Wisconsin quarterback Braiden Locke. Miami transfer Tyler Van
(05:26):
Dyke went down in the Badgers game against Alabama, and
he is now out for the season.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Locke has been pretty solid for the Badgers.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
He's been generating a lot of explosive plays, as previously stated,
but he is also very prone to the big mistake
as well. He's made four starts now and has thrown
at least one pick in all of them. On the year,
though about four and a half games in, Locke is
at one thousand and sixty four yards, seven touchdowns, and
five interceptions. He's completing just under sixty percent of his passes,
(06:00):
which is not bad. It's about average for college quarterback,
so not a Heisman contender, but he will beat you
over the top if given the opportunity. He is definitely
above Wisconsin's recent standards at the position. In my opinion,
this isn't just another Jack Cone wide receiver. Vinnie Anthony
the Second is their big play guy. He has just
(06:20):
thirteen catches on the season, but for three hundred and
fourteen yards and two touchdowns. That is twenty four point
two yards per catch, folks. He's also a dynamic return
man for the Badgers. He lines up back there at
both kick return and punt return at times Anthony is
averaging thirty two yards per kick return and he took
(06:40):
one back. Can't think of which game off the top
of my head, but he took one back like seventy five.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yards on one of those games.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Linebacker Jaheim Thomas, that's the first guy we'll mention on
that defense.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
He is their top tackle guy.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
He has forty three total tackles so far this season,
as well as a sack and attack for loss. He
is an experienced veteran, as this is his fifth year
in college football, just his first with Wisconsin, though. He
began his career at Cincinnati and after three years there,
transferred to Arkansas and then last year in Fayville, he
posted ninety total tackles, seven tackles for loss in three
(07:18):
and a half sacks. So he's been a productive guy
for a while now, and he now finds himself in
Madison where he's leading that big, physical defense. The other
guy on that defense that's definitely worth mentioning his safety,
Hunter Rohler. Speaking of tackles, this guy had his fair
share of them last season. One hundred and twenty total
tackles posted in twenty twenty three with the Badgers for Roller,
(07:41):
along with six tackles for lost, six passes defense, two interceptions,
and a sack. Very productive guy in Waller as well.
He's continuing that productive trend in twenty twenty four, as
he has already posted thirty seven tackles, six passes defense,
and a tackle for loss. He was playing in the
box a ton line last year, and they still line
him up there on occasion, but the Badger's staff has
(08:03):
sort of allowed him to sit back and coverage and
make more plays on the ball in the pass game.
This year, He's definitely made a significant step up in
that department. So let's jump into some game predictions now.
I'm not gonna lie. This has been a pretty hard
game for me personally to get a read on, but
let's see how close we can come here. First up,
(08:24):
Wisconsin's defense in particular has been on a heater recently.
As previously mentioned, they have allowed two hundred and thirty
two total yards of offense on average in their last
three games. So I'm gonna say that Penn State basically
doubles that this Saturday with four hundred and fifty plus
yards of total offense for the Midy Lions.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
All right.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Next, I also mentioned that Wisconsin quarterback Braden Locke has
been struggling with those interceptions at least one in all
four of his starts. Penn State can shut down the run,
especially early in the game, they will be able to
pin their ears back and just go after this kid.
Locke is bottom ten in all of college football quarterbacks
in completion percentage when throwing under pressure. He's completing about
(09:07):
thirty eight and a half percent of his passes when
under pressure. So I think guys like Abdul Carter, Saint Durant,
and Idennis Sutton, they'll be able to make this a
pretty uncomfortable game for Braden Locke and we will see
that payoff on the back end with two plus interceptions
for the Penn State defense.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Right. And then finally, I think this game.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Sets up really well for PSU's backs in the past game.
I talked briefly about that as well earlier. This one's
pretty bold, but give me Nick Singleton to lead the
team in receptions against Wisconsin. And then finally, for the
score prediction, I am, after a lot of thought going
with Penn State thirty Wisconsin twenty. I do think the
(09:50):
Navy Lions can cover. I think we'll see a slightly
better start from this team this weekend. It's something that
James Franklin and the coaching staff have really been harping
on since that USC game and how they tugged themselves
in a huge hole and I had to climb back
out of it, thankfully still securing a win. So that'll
just about do it for today's episode of the Penn
(10:11):
State Pause. I have a eleven twelve hour drive early
tomorrow morning, so hopefully you guys will be listening to
this episode by then. Me and some friends are going
up for this game in Madison, so I can't wait
for that. Thank you guys so much for tuning in,
and I will see you shortly after the game to
break it down.
Welcome back into the Penn State Pulse. I'm your host.
Still in Dawson. Penn State has an enormous Game seven
this weekend as they traveled to Madison for another tough
road test, this time against the Wisconsin Badgers, a team
that has really started to hit their stride recently. And
of course, this game is sandwiched right between a chaotic
Game six at USC and the looming gate Game eight
(00:29):
matchup with the Buck guys in Beaver Stadium. We'll kick
off at seven thirty Eastern time on NBC, and the
spread is sitting at PSU by six and a half
right now on this thing. According to Andrew Banstra, sorry
if I'm saying that wrong, I believe he just covers Wisconsin,
but according to him, Wisconsin is ten and one in
(00:52):
their last eleven night games in Camp Randall Stadium. This
has trap game written all over a guys, but so
much so that it almost cancels out, if that makes sense.
Penn State's coming off a big emotional win obviously at USC.
They're also coming off of a bye week and PSU
hasn't typically performed well in that situation under Franklin. And
(01:14):
then you have the look ahead factor with the Ohio
State tilt coming up. Trap games, in my opinion, are
called that for a reason.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
They're a trap. You don't see them coming.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
There's just no way that PSU's players and especially staff
are overlooking this thing.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
I'm not saying they're gonna go in there and dominate.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
This is a tough opponent and an extremely tough environment
that the Allions are entering into, and it should be
a dogfight. But I do think our guys will be
focused and ready to go well prepared up there in Madison.
This team is road tested to an extent as well,
which also makes me feel a bit better about this one,
as they topped both both West Virginia and USC on
(01:51):
the road this season thus far. In order for Penn
State to win this game, I think we need to
see a big performance from the wide receivers. Tyler has
been picking up more and more attention from defenses as
the season has progressed. After his monster performance against USC,
I think that's kind of shifted now to where he's
not a guy that you need to gain plan for
(02:12):
as a defensive coordinator.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
He's the guy.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
So we're gonna start seeing teams trying to chip him
at the line, a bunch, double team him, maybe even
bracket him when he's lined up out wide, and that
should be starting this weekend with Wisconsin.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
I think we'll see Weisco stack the box.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
When they can to try and defend the run as well,
and they'll leave their cover guys out there in space
with the PSC wide receivers. So I think this game
comes down to the execution from Drew Aller and the
wide receivers. They should be presented with quite a bit
one on one situations, so can they win them? I
think that comes down A lot of this game comes
(02:48):
down to that. I also think this could be a
pretty get big game from the Backs in the past game.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Nick Singleton in particular.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Of course, with his explosiveness, I think Kyler Nicky will
really push for Singleton in the pass game this Saturday.
Again due to the attention that Tyler Warden will be garnering.
That should open up opportunities for other guys, and that
pass game should be there for the Backs just leaking
out into the flats, maybe little screens thinking dunk that
(03:17):
could turn into a big play with a guy like
Nick Singleton. I'd mentioned earlier that Wisco is starting to
hit their stride. This needs to be taken with a
grain of salt because they didn't exactly play the top
of the conference in that stretch Perdue Rutgers Northwestern, by
the way, for those wondering, that was their last three
in that stretch. Though the Badgers put up thirty nine
(03:37):
points per game and allowed five point three. They've really
had the run game on another level, in particular, going
from one hundred and ninety four team rush yards per
game in their first four games to two hundred and
forty five in their last three, and most of that
success can be attributed to running back Tawie Walker, who
is my first player on the Badgers to watch. So
(03:59):
let's jump into this segment starting with Walker. Don't really
need to tell you how good he is. I'll just
give you his tatlines from his last three games four
point nine yards per carry, ninety four yards and three
touchdowns versus per Due, eight point three yards per carry,
one hundred and ninety eight yards and three touchdowns versus Rutgers,
and then last weekend versus Northwestern, he went one hundred
(04:20):
and twenty six yards on five point five yards per carry.
The Oklahoma transfer is clearly coming into form here, settling
into his new conference in the Big Ten, of course,
with some help from that Whiskey O line. He's a
very physical runner who doesn't shy away from contact. He
also has some decent speed and elusiveness. Just a very
good all around back. So Wisconsin's going to try and
(04:43):
get this kid going early and often on Saturday. So
shutting that down and making their offense one dimensional will
be the number one priority for the Penn State defense.
Wisco has had a healthy amount of explosive plays in
the pass game this season, but most of those have
been play action, just kind of playing off of the
run game, drawing the defense in and then leaking a
guy out in the flat on a wheel route or something,
(05:05):
and just kind of playing off of the run game
getting guys open. Based on that, I think if Brandon
Locke is forced to drop back and go head to
head with PSU's secondary, we will see a very good
showing on the defensive side of the ball for Penn State.
And that is the next name that we'll be looking at,
which is Wisconsin quarterback Braiden Locke. Miami transfer Tyler Van
(05:26):
Dyke went down in the Badgers game against Alabama, and
he is now out for the season.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Locke has been pretty solid for the Badgers.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
He's been generating a lot of explosive plays, as previously stated,
but he is also very prone to the big mistake
as well. He's made four starts now and has thrown
at least one pick in all of them. On the year,
though about four and a half games in, Locke is
at one thousand and sixty four yards, seven touchdowns, and
five interceptions. He's completing just under sixty percent of his passes,
(06:00):
which is not bad. It's about average for college quarterback,
so not a Heisman contender, but he will beat you
over the top if given the opportunity. He is definitely
above Wisconsin's recent standards at the position. In my opinion,
this isn't just another Jack Cone wide receiver. Vinnie Anthony
the Second is their big play guy. He has just
(06:20):
thirteen catches on the season, but for three hundred and
fourteen yards and two touchdowns. That is twenty four point
two yards per catch, folks. He's also a dynamic return
man for the Badgers. He lines up back there at
both kick return and punt return at times Anthony is
averaging thirty two yards per kick return and he took
(06:40):
one back. Can't think of which game off the top
of my head, but he took one back like seventy five.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yards on one of those games.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Linebacker Jaheim Thomas, that's the first guy we'll mention on
that defense.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
He is their top tackle guy.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
He has forty three total tackles so far this season,
as well as a sack and attack for loss. He
is an experienced veteran, as this is his fifth year
in college football, just his first with Wisconsin, though. He
began his career at Cincinnati and after three years there,
transferred to Arkansas and then last year in Fayville, he
posted ninety total tackles, seven tackles for loss in three
(07:18):
and a half sacks. So he's been a productive guy
for a while now, and he now finds himself in
Madison where he's leading that big, physical defense. The other
guy on that defense that's definitely worth mentioning his safety,
Hunter Rohler. Speaking of tackles, this guy had his fair
share of them last season. One hundred and twenty total
tackles posted in twenty twenty three with the Badgers for Roller,
(07:41):
along with six tackles for lost, six passes defense, two interceptions,
and a sack. Very productive guy in Waller as well.
He's continuing that productive trend in twenty twenty four, as
he has already posted thirty seven tackles, six passes defense,
and a tackle for loss. He was playing in the
box a ton line last year, and they still line
him up there on occasion, but the Badger's staff has
(08:03):
sort of allowed him to sit back and coverage and
make more plays on the ball in the pass game.
This year, He's definitely made a significant step up in
that department. So let's jump into some game predictions now.
I'm not gonna lie. This has been a pretty hard
game for me personally to get a read on, but
let's see how close we can come here. First up,
(08:24):
Wisconsin's defense in particular has been on a heater recently.
As previously mentioned, they have allowed two hundred and thirty
two total yards of offense on average in their last
three games. So I'm gonna say that Penn State basically
doubles that this Saturday with four hundred and fifty plus
yards of total offense for the Midy Lions.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
All right.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Next, I also mentioned that Wisconsin quarterback Braden Locke has
been struggling with those interceptions at least one in all
four of his starts. Penn State can shut down the run,
especially early in the game, they will be able to
pin their ears back and just go after this kid.
Locke is bottom ten in all of college football quarterbacks
in completion percentage when throwing under pressure. He's completing about
(09:07):
thirty eight and a half percent of his passes when
under pressure. So I think guys like Abdul Carter, Saint Durant,
and Idennis Sutton, they'll be able to make this a
pretty uncomfortable game for Braden Locke and we will see
that payoff on the back end with two plus interceptions
for the Penn State defense.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Right. And then finally, I think this game.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Sets up really well for PSU's backs in the past game.
I talked briefly about that as well earlier. This one's
pretty bold, but give me Nick Singleton to lead the
team in receptions against Wisconsin. And then finally, for the
score prediction, I am, after a lot of thought going
with Penn State thirty Wisconsin twenty. I do think the
(09:50):
Navy Lions can cover. I think we'll see a slightly
better start from this team this weekend. It's something that
James Franklin and the coaching staff have really been harping
on since that USC game and how they tugged themselves
in a huge hole and I had to climb back
out of it, thankfully still securing a win. So that'll
just about do it for today's episode of the Penn
(10:11):
State Pause. I have a eleven twelve hour drive early
tomorrow morning, so hopefully you guys will be listening to
this episode by then. Me and some friends are going
up for this game in Madison, so I can't wait
for that. Thank you guys so much for tuning in,
and I will see you shortly after the game to
break it down.
Host
LaVar Arrington
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