UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — An emotional pregame scene and regulation fittingly wasn’t enough for the Nittany Lions in their 24-21 overtime victory against Wisconsin on Saturday evening at Beaver Stadium. The two teams managed to do more of the scoring in the first and fourth quarters before Sam Ficken’s 37-yard field goal pushed Penn State ahead in overtime and Wisconsin kicker Kyle French’s kick sailed wide left to cap one of the most memorable seasons in Penn State history.
To see a collection of photos from the game, visit http://live.psu.edu/flickrset/72157632089628361.
Zach Zwinak entered the night with 821 rushing yards on the season and carried the bulk of the load for Penn State (8-4, 6-2 Big Ten) offense. The sophomore compiled 179 yards on 36 carries, scored the first touchdown of the game for PSU and dove in for a pivotal two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. A career-high 179 yards pushed the running back to 1,000 rushing yards on the year and gives Penn State a 1,000-yard rusher for the eighth-straight season. He also made three catches for five yards on the night.
In his final game under center, Matt McGloin, fighting the cold, snow and swirling winds, had another solid night through the air. The senior was 19-of-37 for 200 yards and a touchdown, including a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jesse James in the fourth quarter. McGloin closed his career with 10-straight 200-yard passing games and threw a touchdown pass in every game this season.
The Nittany Lion defense allowed just 145 yards of total offense in the second half, limiting the Badgers to just 17 yards in the third quarter.
Trailing by seven with 3:51 left in the game, Wisconsin drove 66 yards on 14 plays and Phillips found Jeff Duckworth for the four-yard touchdown pass with just 18 ticks left on the clock.
Wisconsin won the toss in overtime and elected to play defense first and a nine-yard run by Zwinak was the only yardage the Blue and White would gain. Ficken stepped in and snuck a 37-yard attempt inside the left upright. After a one-yard run by Ball opened the Wisconsin drive, Sean Stanley sacked Phillips for a loss of three yards and an incomplete pass made it fourth-and-12 from the 27 yard line. French lined up the field goal, but pushed the kick wide left and the Nittany Lions earned the hard-fought victory.
