Penn State’s visit to Wisconsin took an unexpected turn Saturday night when quarterback Drew Allar left the game due to injury and did not play in the second half. With Beau Pribula and a strong defensive performance, the Nittany Lions secured a win in Wisconsin 28-13 away winand set up a showdown with Ohio State on Nov. 2 at Beaver Stadium.

The Nittany Lions went 7-0 for the third time under head coach James Franklin and first since 2019. Here are the key takeaways from Penn State’s sixth straight win over Wisconsin.

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Beau Pribula is more than a changeup quarterback

Allar stood on the Penn State sideline in the second half with a brace on his knee and a towel over his head. The junior had a productive day, previously rushing for 148 yards and a touchdown in 14 of 16 games Sacked late in the second quarter. After two incompletions, Allar went to the locker room early and Pribula started the second half for the Nittany Lions.

Things were a little shaky at first with the offense punting on the first two drives of the second half, but Pribula came around and made some crucial plays. It started with a monster 13-play, 81-yard drive to take the lead early in the fourth quarter. On the next possession, Pribula marched Penn State offside again. He threw an impressive 23-yard pass to Liam Clifford while scoring and also ran for a key third-down conversion.

Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki adapted his play-calling to Pribula’s strengths by working out the read option and then building play-action passes from it. Pribula rushed for 28 yards on six carries and completed 11 of 13 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.

“They did a really good job with him in the second half and caused us some problems.” said Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell. “As much as you have to prepare for so many things, when he actually comes into the game it’s going to be a slightly different game, which caused us some problems. You give them credit for having a plan in case he was in there, and I don’t think we did a good enough job of making sure we understood what he was going to do. He also threw the football pretty darn well. He made some plays in the second half that were really, really great.”

Should Allar miss significant time due to injury, it would be a major blow to Penn State’s championship hopes. But at least on Saturday, Pribula did enough to keep the Nittany Lions undefeated.

Jaylen Reed is Penn State’s defensive game-changer

With Allar out of the game and the offense struggling, the Nittany Lions trailed 10-7 and needed a spark. Enter safety Jaylen Reed, who intercepted a pass from Wisconsin’s Braedyn Locke in the third quarter and took it to the house for a 19-yard pick-6. The interception gave Penn State a 14-10 lead it would never relinquish. And it was the second game in a row that Reed had a big turnover.

reed intercepted USC quarterback Miller Moss He tied the game late in the fourth quarter and sent the game into overtime. The Wisconsin interception quickly turned the game in Penn State’s favor.

“Momentum is a real thing,” Franklin said. “I think that was an important play to get the momentum going. From that point on we were really able to control the game, especially on offense and defense.

Reed finished the game with five tackles, helping lead a Penn State defense that gave up just one touchdown and three points in the second half. The Badgers had several solid attacks but had to settle for two field goals while the Nittany Lions capitalized with touchdowns.

Additionally, the Badgers’ ground attack never came to fruition, as Penn State held running back Tawee Walker to just 59 yards on 22 carries. Locke had some successful passing moments (22 of 42, 217 yards), but didn’t put together enough plays to enable Wisconsin to mount a comeback.

Penn State remained resilient despite mounting injuries

Two more Penn State starters had to leave Saturday’s game due to injuries, as defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton and right tackle Anthony Donkoh were sidelined. Dennis-Sutton only came back into the game for one play early in the second half before being ruled out for the rest of the game.

Wisconsin transfer Nolan Rucci stepped in for Donkoh and performed well, helping pave the way for consecutive touchdown drives in the second half. The offense ran the ball for a total of 173 yards while Wisconsin’s pass rush was limited to just one sack.

In Dennis-Sutton’s absence, Penn State showcased its defensive prowess, with Amin Vanover, Smith Vilbert, Coziah Izzard and Alonzo Ford Jr. all lining up up front. As with Allar, there is currently no word on the availability of Dennis-Sutton and Donkoh for next week against Ohio State.

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Sam Woloson has covered Penn State athletics for three years and is currently managing editor of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow him on X @sam_woloson