Wisconsin's first Big Ten title since 2000 will have to wait another year if the Badgers cannot find a way to get past Penn State this Saturday. The primary obstacle in Wisconsin's way is not the Penn State team as a whole, the deafening volume of the Nittany Lion crowd or the prestige that comes with a program whose uniform design is as old as its coach'the key to the game for the Badgers will be getting past the Penn State defense.
PSU head coach Joe Paterno fields a defensive team that ranks second in the Big Ten in total yards allowed, yielding only 296.6 yards per game and just 103.7 yards on the ground'also good for second in the conference. As if those statistics alone do not reflect enough upon the menacing nature of Penn State's defense, they also lead the conference in pass defense, giving up just 192.9 yards per game through the air.
Naturally, an effective defensive line will stop the run and get pressure on the quarterback to disrupt the pass. Defensive success starts up front and Badger head coach Barry Alvarez is well aware that the Penn State down linemen are capable of taking control of the game.
'I think [Penn State's] front seven is outstanding,' Alvarez said. 'The one thing they can do'??they can rush four and get pressure. When you can rush four and get pressure, it allows you to do a lot of things in the back end, and they've been able to do that. They're very physical. They come off the edge. The two guys inside are active. One of the better line-backing groups that I've seen, their front seven is particularly good.'
Penn State boasts the most important defensive statistic of all: The unit allows only 16.7 points per game. They lead the Big Ten in that category and are led by defensive lineman senior Tamba Hali and junior linebacker Paul Poluszny. Hali is second in the Big Ten in sacks (7) and tackles for a loss (11). Poluszny is fourth in the conference in tackles with 94 through nine games. Both will be focusing on No. 2 in the Badger backfield after having success holding the nation's leading rusher' Minnesota's Laurence Maroney'to just 48 yards on 16 carries.
'They did a great job against him and that is a great rushing offense,' junior running back Brian Calhoun said. 'We are just going to have to take Minnesota's mistakes and turn them into positives for us.'
