Every Badgers fan’s dream almost came to fruition in the first half as Wisconsin faced off against No. 3 ranked Penn State on Saturday in Camp Randall.
The lights glistened against the night sky and screaming fans lined the packed bleachers as the Badgers ran off the field at halftime, leading the game 10-7.
An early punt fake in the first drive of the game set the tone early for Wisconsin. To prevent his punt from being blocked, Wisconsin punter Atticus Bertrams brought the ball down and ran 15 yards to ensure a first down for the Badgers.
It was a play that Fickell later remarked was not planned.
“That's a guy that's improvising and making something happen,” Fickell said of Bertrams.
And make something happen he did. The Badgers regrouped to put the first points on the board as Nathaniel Vakos drilled in a 50-yard field goal attempt, marking Vakos’ fourth successful 50-plus-yard attempt, a University of Wisconsin-Madison record.
Penn State found some initial rhythm in a 90-yard drive occurring over nine plays that got them their first touchdown of the night.
Wisconsin, not to be deterred, once again turned to emerging star running back Tawee Walker. Following a deep 28-yard catch by wide receiver Will Pauling, Walker rushed an additional yard to give the Badgers the edge heading into the half.
But the momentum didn’t hold for Wisconsin.
“We couldn’t take advantage of an incredible atmosphere and crowd to finish the thing off and execute when it counts the most,” Fickell said.
The tide churned in the Nittany Lions’ favor near the end of the third quarter when Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke threw a pick-six to Penn State’s Jaylen Reed.
You could almost feel the air in the stadium get sucked out. But Fickell was apprehensive to place blame on one man.
“You never want to point a finger. You can kind of call us a band of brothers, and our ability to do things together is most important,” Fickell said.
Locke, on the other hand, refused to shy away from what occurred.
“I've got to make a better decision and not throw it to the other team,” Locke said.
But it didn’t just come to the quarterback, something that Fickell stressed in a post-game press conference.
“Regardless of who's at the quarterback position, I think that if you can’t run the football, if you can’t establish yourself and do a little bit better job on first down, you’re going to put anyone there, especially against a defense like that, with the ability they have, in a really difficult situation,” Fickell said.
The Badgers’ last point put on the board came as a quick response to that interception. Vakos made a 32-yard field goal with 2:44 remaining in the third quarter.
For Penn State, their second-half rebound had only just begun.
The Nittany Lions scored an additional two touchdowns for the night, a blow to a Badgers team whose score didn’t quite reflect the back-and-forth battle this game started as.
It was an eerily familiar tale to the Badger’s loss against then No.13 ranked USC — Wisconsin started strong, led at the half, but fell short in the third and fourth quarters.
Fickell, recognizing that carrying momentum into the fourth quarter has been difficult at times for Wisconsin, said the team took Sunday as a chance to “regroup and reload,” knowing that they have to “get rolling.”
“Tomorrow, we’re making sure we’re getting to the physicality of what it is we need to do, and knowing what it’s going to be like going over to Iowa and playing another night game,” Fickell said during an Oct. 28 press conference. “That’s going to be a tough, hard-fought, physical football game that, in a lot of ways, is probably going to come down to the fourth quarter.”
The Badgers will travel to Iowa City to face off against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Both teams boast a 5-3 record and will be fighting to knock down the other.
