BREAKING: Next Penn State football road test set for primetime

Fresh off an electric overtime victory against USC in Los Angeles this weekend, we now know what awaits James Franklin and the Nittany Lions the next time Penn State football hits the road. After a week of rest, the Nittany Lions will return to action on October 26 by traveling to Madison to take on the Wisconsin Badgers.

Announced by Penn State on Monday afternoon, the Week 9 contest between the Nittany Lions and Badgers will occur at 7:30 p.m. and air on NBC. This marks the third consecutive matchup in which Penn State will play in front of a national television audience.

Kickoff is set. 🕢

at Wisconsin
→ 7:30 PM ET pic.twitter.com/gvlvzfEBpV

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) October 14, 2024

This weekend, Wisconsin trounced Rutgers 42-7 in Piscataway. The Badgers (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) have lost to Alabama and USC this season. Luke Fickell’s squad will travel to Northwestern this Saturday.

Penn State football holds an 11-9 lead in the series since 1953. The Nittany Lions are on a five-game winning streak against the Badgers, the most recent of which came in 2021. A dramatic ending rivaling that of Saturday’s contest in Southern California, Jaquan Brister and Ji’Ayir Brown each intercepted Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz to hold on for a 16-10 victory in Camp Randall Stadium.

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

James Franklin: Penn State needs to become an “all of it” team to accomplish its goals in 2024

Without the benefit of hindsight, Saturday’s victory over USC appears to be one of the most significant wins of the James Franklin era in Happy Valley. Thrilling as the game was, for at least one weekend, Penn State football pushed back on the narrative of being unable to rise to the occasion.

The Nittany Lions are now ranked No. 3 in the country with complete control of their Big Ten title and College Football Playoff hopes. But to reach those heights and fully remove the albatross from around their neck, Franklin recognizes that further work is needed.

“You’re going to have to find different ways throughout a season to win,” Franklin said. “Some are going to be blowouts, hopefully more of them are blowouts, but some of them are going to be comebacks. Some are going to be home where you get the fans, and they’re supporting you. Some are going to be on the road, where things are going against you, and you don’t have a whole lot of support in the stadium. Maybe weather, or whatever it may be, that’s big.

“I think the word resilient was probably the best word to define our team today. It’s good to be able to go in and say, ‘Guys, we’re a second-half team,’ but I prefer not to say that anymore. I prefer to be a four-quarter team, a start-fast team, a fourth-quarter team, all of it. And we’re going to have to be that to continue to win the games that we want to win moving forward.”

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