STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - From the beginning until the end, it was a disaster.
Coming off their first loss of the season and playing in front of a hostile road crowd, the No. 19 Badgers could have rebounded and remained in the thick of the Big Ten title race. Instead they suffered their worst defeat in almost three years as Penn State rolled to a 38-7 victory Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
We did not play well in any phase of the game,"" UW junior defensive back Jack Ikegwuonu said. ""They just dominated us the whole night.""
Wisconsin (2-2 Big Ten, 5-2 overall) continued its defensive struggles, forcing Penn State (2-2, 5-2) to punt only once in the first half and allowing the Nittany Lions to score seemingly at will throughout the game.
""This week of practice was probably our best week of practice all year,"" junior linebacker DeAndre Levy said. ""It just didn't carry over on Saturday. That's kind of unfortunate, kind of disappointing.""
The Wisconsin offense did not do the Badger defense any favors, turning the ball over and giving Penn State good field position.
""We had three critical turnovers in the first half that gave them points and led to an early momentum swing on their side,"" Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema said.
Penn State scored 14 points off of Badger miscues.
On the game's first play from scrimmage, sophomore running back P.J. Hill coughed up the football and Nittany Lion junior linebacker Sean Lee recovered at the UW 17-yard line.
Three plays later, senior running back Matt Hahn leapt into the end zone to give the Nittany Lions a 7-0 lead.
After Penn State added a field goal to extend their lead to 10-0, Wisconsin responded with a scoring drive of their own.
Senior quarterback Tyler Donovan scrambled for a first down and tossed passes to freshman wide receiver Kyle Jefferson and junior tight end Travis Beckum to set up a one-yard touchdown run by Hill. But the Badgers would not get near the end zone for the remainder of the game.
Penn State junior defensive back Lydell Sargeant picked off a Donovan pass after it ricocheted off the hands of freshman wide out David Gilreath on Wisconsin's first drive of the second quarter.
The Nittany Lions quickly capitalized as senior quarterback Anthony Morelli found junior wide receiver Deon Butler for a 29-yard touchdown strike, beating Wisconsin junior Allen Langford on a post-corner route.
Donovan would throw a second pick later in the quarter.
""I know this - Tyler's a competitor,"" Bielema said. ""But the bottom line is we have to have execution, too.""
An eight-play, 62-yard drive capped by freshman tailback Evan Royster's 19-yard touchdown run on fourth and one gave Penn State a 24-7 lead with 6:35 remaining in the half.
Sophomore linebacker Jaevery McFadden put Wisconsin in a position to get back in the game when he striped the ball from junior punt returner Derrick Williams and UW sophomore tight end Mickey Turner recovered on the PSU 38-yard line.
Yet instead of adding a score before the half, as the Badgers have so many times under Bielema, Wisconsin lost yardage and elected to punt rather than try a 51-yard field goal.
Two second half scores padded the Penn State lead as UW suffered its worst defeat of the Bielema era.
Wisconsin had not dropped consecutive contests since 2005 when it lost to Penn State and Iowa to conclude the regular season.
""The confidence [level] right now is probably a little low,"" junior offensive tackle Eric Vanden Heuvel said. ""But that's something we've got to work up through in practice. That's the whole '1-0' thing. We lost this game ... but we can't let it cloud our mind and we've got to look for the next game.""
As a team which entered the season with high expectations, the Badgers must now play perfect football and get help if they hope to claim at least a portion of the Big Ten crown.
Game notes
On Penn State's second drive of the second half, freshman Aaron Henry replaced Langford at cornerback. Langford entered the game when UW went to its nickel package.
Freshman wide receiver Kyle Jefferson set career highs with six receptions for 124 yards.
