Big
Ten Game of the Year
Week
13: Penn State vs. Wisconsin (24-21, OT)
Highlights:
Both
teams entered the regular season finale at 7-4. Wisconsin would be going on to
the Big Ten Championship Game thanks to the ineligibility of Ohio State and
PSU. The Nittany Lions would be playing their final game of the year regardless
of the outcome.
The offenses were
surprisingly explosive early on. Wisconsin received the opening kick and Curt
Phillips hit Melvin Gordon on a 57-yard TD to put the Badgers ahead 7-0. Penn
State went 78 yards on 15 plays in less than 5 minutes on their first
possession to even the score at 7-7. Wisconsin returned the ensuing kick 47
yards and then went 53 yards in 4 plays to retake the lead, 14-7. The rest of
the half was a punt party.
Penn State took the 2nd
half kickoff and managed a FG to make it 14-10. Another PSU FG made it a
1-point game with less than 3 minutes left in the 3rd. Early in the
4th PSU faced 3rd and 21 from their own 44. Matthew
McGloin completed a pass for 15 yards to the 41 of Wisconsin but that left 4th
and 6. Penn State went for it and the result was a 41-yard TD pass to Jesse
James that gave Penn State the lead. The Nittany Lions got the 2-point
conversion to make it 21-14.
Later in the 4th
the Badgers faced 4th and 8 from the PSU 20. Phillips was picked off
and PSU took over with 5 minutes to go. Wisconsin got it back and threatened
again. This time they had 4th and goal at the 4. Phillips threw a TD
to Jeff Duckworth for the game-tying score with just 18 seconds to go.
Penn State got it first
in OT. Sam Ficken hit a 37-yard FG to give Penn State the lead. Kyle French
then missed a 44-yard FG try for Wisconsin, giving Penn State the victory,
20-17.
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