BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley vs. Wisconsin's pass defense
The Nittany Lions embrace "chunk plays" of 20 or more yards. They lead the Big Ten in plays of 20-plus (80), 30-plus (41), 40-plus (26) and 50-plus (12). Only Toledo's Logan Woodside has completed more passes (21) for 40 or more yards than McSorley, who has 20. The 6-foot, 205-pound McSorley, a 21-year-old junior from Ashburn, Virginia, also has 16 rushes of 20 or more yards. He's definitely a dual threat.
McSorley can be a little bit unorthodox, too. "You'll see some sidearm throws and stuff like that, but he's a big playmaker," said UW defensive tackle Chikwe Obasih. "He's fast, he's quick. He has the knack for making the explosive play and keeping the play going. We have to stay disciplined and keep him contained on the QB runs. Everyone has to be technique sound."
McSorley, who has thrown for 200 or more yards in nine of his 12 career starts, leads the nation in passing yards per completion with a 16.2 average. Last Saturday against Michigan State, in what was a must-win situation for the Nittany Lions, McSorley completed 17-of-23 passes for a career-high 376 yards and four touchdowns, the 13th-straight game that he has thrown for at least one TD.
Overall, McSorley has completed 56 percent of his passes for 2,976 yards. He's one of just five quarterbacks in Penn State history with multiple 300-yard passing games in a season, joining a short list of Christian Hackenberg, Matt McGloin, Kerry Collins and Daryll Clark. Besides Michigan State, he threw for 332 vs. Pitt, 335 vs. Minnesota and 332 vs. Indiana. He has 21 TD passes and only five interceptions.
Penn State has not had an offensive turnover in six of the last eight games.
By contrast, the Badgers' defensive corps has collected 11 interceptions over the last three games alone.
"They are talented in the secondary, they're experienced in the secondary, no doubt," said Penn State head coach James Franklin. "But I think we're talented at receiver and tight end. We are experienced at receiver and tight end. That will be a really interesting matchup in this game."
12 and 5. Keep an eye on those numbers. No. 12 is Chris Godwin, who has 47 catches and nine touchdowns. He's averaging 16.2 per reception. Godwin has been compared favorably to former Penn State wide receiver Allen Robinson. No. 5 is DaeSean Hamilton, who has at least one catch in 37 of 38 games. He had 82 as a freshman in 2014, including 14 in a single game against Ohio State.
Now consider their career numbers:
Godwin has 141 receptions for 2,184 yards (15.4) and 16 touchdowns.
Hamilton has 153 receptions for 1,867 yards (12.2) and nine touchdowns.
The complimentary piece in the passing attack is 6-6, 252-pound tight end Mike Gesicki, who is the Nittany Lions' second-leading receiver with 44 catches for 610 yards (13.8) and three touchdowns. Gesicki broke Andrew Quarless' single-season mark for receptions among PSU tight ends. He has more catches and receiving yards than any other tight end in the Big Ten. He also has four or more catches in seven of the last 10 games.
A pass rush has been an integral component to Wisconsin's pass defense.
How will a patched-up Penn State offensive line deal with T.J. Watt and Vince Biegel?
The Nittany Lions have lost two offensive tackles (Andrew Nelson and Paris Palmer) with injuries, while Brandan Mahon has missed the last four games. Connor McGovern, a true freshman, is the right guard. Ryan Bates is the left tackle and Steven Gonzalez is the left guard. Both are redshirt freshmen. Right tackle Chasz Wright is a redshirt sophomore. The line is anchored by center Brian Gala who has 37 career starts.
McSorley might be at his best, and most dangerous, when pressured.
"He's one of those quarterbacks that when he steps up in the pocket, even when he's kind of on the run, his eyes are downfield," said Franklin, speaking to the game within the game Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium. "That puts your underneath coverage and defense in conflict. Are they going to step up and stop Trace from running? When you do that, it creates really good throwing lanes."
Wisconsin's tailbacks and running attack vs. Penn State's linebackers and rush defense
Even though he won't be matched up on the playing field with tailback Saquon Barkley, the leading rusher for the Nittany Lions, Corey Clement is looking forward to the challenge of competing against such a quality peer. Barkley, a 5-11, 223-pound sophomore, has 228 carries for 1,219 yards (5.3) and 15 TDs. Clement, a 5-11, 227-pound senior, has 271 carries for 1,140 yards (4.2) and 13 TDs.
Clement is averaging 103.6 yards per game. Barkley is averaging 101.6. Moreover, Clement and Barkley were the running backs on the All-Big Ten first team picked by the coaches. Barkley was honored as the Offensive Player of the Year in the conference. He was also selected as the Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year. (Alan Ameche and Ron Dayne were Wisconsin's only Heisman Trophy winners.)
"He's a freakish athlete," Clement said of Barkley, who had a streak of 14-straight games with at least one rush of 20 or more yards snapped by Rutgers. It was the second longest streak in college football over the last two decades. "He has definitely made a name for himself and set the bar high. I have to trust in my O-line and go after that bar. It will be awesome to compete against him."
There's some question on Barkley's availability Saturday night because of an ankle injury suffered in the Michigan State win. Whether he plays or not, of course, has nothing to do with Wisconsin's ground game and Clement, who has rushed for over 100 yards in six of the last seven games. During this span, he's averaging 117.3 yards per game on the ground. The Badgers are 14-1 when he runs for at least 100.
Penn State's linebackers will have something to say about Clement, namely Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda. When they were sidelined by injuries, the defense struggled to stop the rush, especially against Michigan, which rushed for 326 yards. Since returning to active status, Bell and Cabinda have collected 57 and 51 tackles, respectively, over the last six games. Bell had 18 against Michigan State.
That matched his career high of 18 in the Ohio State upset. Bell and Cabinda combined for 31 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 2 sacks against the Buckeyes. Bell has 30 career starts, Cabinda has 21. They've meshed nicely with a couple of productive defensive ends in Garrett Sickels, who has 12 TFLs, and Evan Schwan, who has 7.5 TFLs. Both have six quarterback sacks to pace the defense.
Only Michigan (9.6) is averaging more TFLs per game than the Nittany Lions (8.7), who had 10 against the Spartans, the ninth time this season they've had at least nine TFLs in a game. That includes averaging three sacks per game. Clement can expect to cross paths frequently with safety Marcus Allen, who's the leading tackler with 90. He likes to stick his nose in the tackle box.
In fact, the 6-2, 202-pound Allen had 22 tackles against Minnesota, the most by a Penn State player since 2005 when Paul Posluszny had 22 against Northwestern. It was also the most by a Big Ten player since Wisconsin's Mike Taylor had 22 at Ohio State in 2011. Allen is known for something else. He blocked Ohio State's field goal that was returned for a scoop-and-score by Grant Haley.
