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Lions beat Wisconsin, 34-31

Sunday, October 06, 2002

By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin had 13 days to prepare for Penn State's offense, plenty of time to devise a game plan to defend against Zack Mills and his arsenal of weapons.

	More on Penn State: Penn State Report 10/6/02

The Nittany Lions, meanwhile, had six days to dwell on a heartbreaking overtime loss against Iowa.

It's never easy to predict which team will have the edge in college football, but it certainly appeared the Badgers would have it yesterday.

But proving that nothing is certain in the muddled Big Ten Conference, Penn State showed its resolve. The No. 20 Nittany Lions stormed to an early lead against No. 19 Wisconsin and held on for a 34-31 victory before 79,403 at Camp Randall Stadium.

"Today was another maturing process for us," Coach Joe Paterno said.

The victory sent the Badgers (5-1, 0-1 Big Ten) to their first loss of the season, and it was the Lions' first win at Wisconsin since 1996.

Penn State (4-1, 1-1) scored on touchdowns from Mills, Larry Johnson and Sean McHugh and got four field goals from kicker Robbie Gould, including a crucial 51-yarder that gave the Lions a 31-23 lead with 7:36 remaining. The Lions had 436 yards of offense against the conference's top scoring defense. Punter David Royer didn't have to punt until the final seconds of the third quarter.

The much-maligned defense, which looked so ragged for the first three quarters against Iowa, stood tall and performed well under pressure. Defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy and defensive end Michael Haynes each had three sacks as the Lions sacked Wisconsin quarterback Brooks Bollinger seven times.

"We just wanted to come out and play a whole game today," senior safety Shawn Mayer said. "We felt like we would have won that Iowa game if we had played all four quarters. Our goal was to play from the start."

This was the first of three road games against ranked teams in four weeks. The Lions travel to No. 14 Michigan next week, and to No. 5 Ohio State Oct. 26.

Playing as if the season was on the line, the Lions responded with an inspired effort.

"This team won't give up," senior guard Tyler Lenda said. "We've been through tough times. We've been down and we know how it feels. Last week was a real tough loss. Sunday, we were all moping around. But once Monday came around, we went back to work."

"They're starting to feel like they can get the job done," Paterno said. "They're starting to understand."

Penn State took the Wisconsin crowd out of the game early by scoring on its four of its first five possessions. Mills had another strong passing game, going 21 for 37 for 287 yards, and he did it with a sprained joint in his left (throwing) shoulder. He was injured early in the first quarter. He was evaluated in the locker room but didn't miss a down.

"He's a tough kid," Paterno said. "A big-timer."

Penn State took a 13-7 early in the second quarter and looked to be taking control of the game. The Lions were driving for another score when Mills made one of the few mistakes he made all game. He underthrew Casey Williams in the flat, and B.J. Tucker returned an interception 65 yards for a 14-13 Wisconsin lead.

But the crowd was silent again 72 seconds later after Mills regrouped and led the Lions to the go-ahead score. They went 74 yards in four plays. Johnson capped the drive with a 24-yard run and caught the two-point conversion pass for a 21-14 lead.

"We've been doing this for a while," Mills said. "This is what we think we can do. We believe in ourselves."

Penn State took a 28-14 lead after driving 56 yards in eight plays on its first possession of the third quarter. Johnson ran 43 yards on the second play of the drive. Fullback Sean McHugh scored the first touchdown of his career from a yard out on third-and-goal to cap the drive.

Wisconsin answered with a 13-play, 80-yard drive. Brandon Williams scored on a 7-yard reception from Bollinger on third-and-goal. The Badgers were penalized for a late hit after the play, which forced a missed 36-yard point-after attempt. Penn State led, 28-20, with 2:23 left in the third quarter.

Wisconsin forced Penn State's first punt of the day on the ensuing possession and got the ball back at its 38 with 32 seconds left in the third quarter. The Badgers drove to the Penn State 22, but the Lions' defense stiffened, and Mike Allen booted a 48-yard field goal with 13:05 left in the fourth quarter, and it was 28-23.

Wisconsin forced another Penn State three-and-out and got the ball at the Lions' 47 after a 13-yard punt return from Jim Leonard. But the Badgers dropped consecutive passes and were forced to punt.

"I really thought we were in good shape right there," Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez said. "We had the momentum. If we were going to have a chance to win the football game, that's where we were going to have to do it. That was huge."

Penn State got the ball back and made it an 8-point game with 7:36 remaining after Gould booted a career-long 51-yard field goal to make the score, 31-23.

Paterno and assistant head coach Fran Ganter debated on the sideline and decided to let Gould attempt the kick.

"Franny wasn't sure if he could make it. I wasn't sure if he could make it," Paterno said. "I asked him how he felt. He said, 'I'll kick it.'"

When asked if he was that easily convinced by his kickers all the time, Paterno said, "When the three points are important as those, yeah."

That gave the Lions some much-needed cushion. Another Gould field goal with 2:55 remaining made the score 34-23.

Wisconsin scored on a 28-yard pass from Bollinger to Jonathan Orr with 1:17 remaining and made the two-point conversion to close to 34-31, but Bryan Scott recovered the onside kick, and the Lions had a huge road win in the bag.

"This is a big win," Paterno said.