In the grand finale at Camp Randall Saturday for the 2013 regular season, Wisconsin (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten) will take on Penn State (6-5, 3-4 Big Ten) in a game that presents the Badgers as heavy favorites.
Opening the week with a 24-point spread in many betting lines, Wisconsin and Penn State couldn’t be coming from more different places this season.
While Penn State is simply trying to prove itself in the Big Ten this season, No. 15 Wisconsin has a chance — barring a Penn State upset — of clinching a top-14 BCS position and a potential at-large bid for a BCS bowl game.
However, if there is one team that can throw a wrench in those plans, it may be Penn State.
Over the last five meetings, Penn State has won three, including a 24-21 win for the Nittany Lions at Penn State in the final week of the season last fall.
For that to be the case again this year, Penn State will rely on the inexperienced arm of freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg. On the season, Hackenberg has averaged 237.8 yards per game through the air — good enough for second in the Big Ten — and has 16 touchdown passes. On the flip side the young quarterback has also thrown 10 interceptions in 2013 as well.
Still, when he is on, he is on. In a 43-40 overtime victory over Michigan earlier this season, Hackenberg threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns. Against Illinois, he passed for 240 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s a competitor,” head coach Gary Andersen said in his Monday press conference. “He can throw all the balls. I think the offense has grown, as it’s gone through the season, to give him a little bit more as he’s progressed and developed. They’ve just got confidence in each other as a play caller and as a quarterback.”
Complementing Hackenberg is the young quarterback’s favorite target, junior Allen Robinson.
The six-foot three-inch wide receiver is averaging 119.1 yards per game in 2013 — the fifth-best average in the country.
“He’s made a lot of big plays,” Andersen said. “Down the field, in the middle of the field. He gets off coverages very well, seems to read the zones and sit down on whatever you want, option routes or where he has the ability to run a streak or sit it down or break the route off on the outside.
“He’s very talented at what he does.”
The problems for Penn State arise in the red zone, where the team is a measly 23-31 converting redzone trips into points on the board, and three times has turned the ball over via an interception or fumble.
Meanwhile, Penn State’s defense presents a slightly different story.
The Nittany Lions rank 10th in the conference in passing defense allowing an average of 253.7 passing yards per game.
As a result, redshirt sophomore Joel Stave may have the opportunity to make big plays in the air to complement Wisconsin’s rushing attack, especially to redshirt senior Abbrederis, as he and the other seniors play their last game at Camp Randall on Senior Day.
Andersen said he hopes the added importance of Senior Day will help motivate the senior players to leave it all on the field in their final appearances.
“It’s going to be emotional. Like I said, it’s emotional for me to see those kids moving across the field for the last time,” Andersen said. “They’ll lock and load. My guess is they’ll go through it very well. They’ll get the pictures and have some things to remember for the rest of their lives.”
