RECAP: No. 21 Penn State 22, Wisconsin 10

That felt good, eh?

Penn State played its best game since Ohio State in all facets and came away with a comfortable 22-10 victory over the visiting Wisconsin Badgers.

The game started out unceremoniously for the now 7-3 Nittany Lions. They opted to receive the opening kick off and, despite picking up one first down and driving out near midfield, were eventually forced to punt the ball away.

It didn’t take long for the Badgers (6-4) to take the lead.

All-American running back Jonathan Taylor ripped through the Penn State defense for a 71-yard touchdown to make the score 7-0 inside of the first 4 minutes.

The Nittany Lions responded well, however, as Trace McSorley and Miles Sanders matriculated the ball down the field for a touchdown drive capped by a 14-yard pass from McSorley to Thompkins.

From that point on, the Penn State defense was dominant.

The Nittany Lions forced a fumble on the ensuing drive and the offense put up a 49-yard field goal to grab a 10-7 lead.

The Badgers then had back-to-back three-and-out drives and Penn State capped a 60-yard drive with a Miles Sanders touchdown plunge to make it 16-7 after a Jake Pinegar missed point after attempt.

Penn State had a chance to add onto the lead late in the half before Trace McSorley was sacked and forced to leave the contest.

Tommy Stevens led the team into field-goal range but Pinegar’s 43-yard attempt was blocked.

Wisconsin started the second half with the ball and drove the ball deep into Nittany Lions territory but the defense held firm to force 28-yard field goal that made it 16-10.

McSorley returned on the following drive and Penn State answered with a field goal of its own as Pinegar split the uprights from 42 yards making it 19-10.

The Nittany Lions added another field goal in the fourth quarter and the defense, as it did all day, held steadfast to salt the game away.

McSorley finished the game 19 of 25 for 160 yards and a touchdown in tough conditions. Sanders, who surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the season, carried the rock 23 times for 159 yards and a score and four different receivers had at least 30 yards.

On the defensive side, Micah Parsons once again led the team with 7 tackles and Shareef Miller and Yetur Gross-Matos were downright unblockable. Miller had a pair of sacks, a number of hurries and a fumble recovery while Gross-Matos finished with a sack, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

All things considered, it was the most complete game Penn State has played since September and a welcome change from what we’ve seen recently.

The mistakes are still there, but were clearly lessened. Meanwhile, young players like KJ Hamler, Jahan Doton, Pat Freiermuth, Micah Parsons and Yetur-Gross Matos continue to impress.

Brent Pry’s unit, against an albeit hampered Wisconsin offense, allowed just 269 yards and over 100 of those came in the first quarter.

Ricky Rahne showed some new formations and creative ways of getting Hamler the ball, and even Phil Galiano’s gang looked pretty good.

Penn State is now well on its way to a 9-3 season with just Rutgers and Maryland standing in its way.