Tawee Walker scores a touchdown against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Camp Randall Stadium on Oct. 26 (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
MADISON, Wis. - Beau Pribula performed in relief of injured quarterback Drew Allar, Jaylen Reed scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 19-yard interception return and No. 3 Penn State rallied to beat Wisconsin 28-13 on Saturday night.
Allar went into the locker room before his teammates in the final minute of the first half after he landed a little awkwardly while getting sacked on Penn State’s last series of the second quarter. Allar came back onto the field for the second half wearing a brace around his left knee, but he remained on the sideline for the rest of the night.
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Penn State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) trailed 10-7 at the time of Allar’s exit. The Nittany Lions also played much of the game without star defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, who got hurt in the first half and briefly returned in the third quarter before leaving for good.
Reed and Pribula helped make sure the Nittany Lions remained unbeaten anyway.
Pribula went 11 of 13 for 98 yards through the air, including a 1-yard touchdown to Khalil Dinkins. He also rushed for 28 yards on six carries as Penn State outscored Wisconsin 21-3 in the second half to snap the Badgers' three-game winning streak.
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But it was Reed who delivered the biggest play of the night.
Throwing from his own end zone on third-and-14 from the 8, Braedyn Locke sent a pass across the middle that went directly to Reed. The Penn State safety then raced into the right corner of the end zone to put the Nittany Lions ahead 14-10 with 6:29 left in the third quarter.
Locke bounced back on Wisconsin’s next series by throwing a 33-yard pass to CJ Williams that set up a Nathanial Vakos 32-yard field goal, cutting Penn State’s advantage to 14-13. Pribula answered by leading Penn State into the end zone on each of its next two series.
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Pribula capped a 13-play, 81-yard drive by finding a wide-open Dinkins in the back of the end zone with 10:01 left in the game. After Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2) went three-and-out on its next series, Penn State scored again on Kaytron Allen’s 24-yard scamper with 3:10 remaining.
Before leaving the game, Allar went 14 of 18 for 148 yards in the first half with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Nick Singleton, who made a one-handed grab. Allar also fumbled away a fourth-and-inches snap on the Wisconsin 28 to thwart a scoring opportunity on the Nittany Lions’ opening series.
Wisconsin led 10-7 at the half thanks to a Vakos 50-yard field goal on the game’s first series and a Tawee Walker 1-yard touchdown run with 1:23 left in the second quarter. Vakos’ field goal followed a 15-yard run by Atticus Bertrams on a fake punt.
Locke ended up going 22 of 42 for 217 yards and the interception to Reed. Penn State limited Walker to 59 yards on 22 carries.
The takeaway
Penn State: The Nittany Lions showcased their depth by dominating the second half without one of their top players on each side of the ball. It should come as no surprise that Penn State took control in the third quarter. The Nittany Lions are outscoring teams 66-6 in the third quarter this season, including their 7-3 edge Saturday.
Wisconsin: The Badgers blew a golden opportunity to change their recent history of struggles against ranked teams. Wisconsin is 2-14 in its last 16 games against Top 25 teams, including an 0-5 mark under second-year coach Luke Fickell.
Poll implications
Penn State figures to stay at No. 3 when the new Top 25 comes out Sunday.
Up next
Penn State hosts No. 4 Ohio State next Saturday, while Wisconsin visits Iowa on the same day.