Hey guys! Richie O'Leary here, publisher of Happy Valley Insider aka the Penn State - Rivals site. Just wanted to drop by and post our video from PSU head coach James Franklin's press conference today. I'll try to stop by throughout the week and answer any questions you guys have + I'll drop all our game week links below as well.

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I don't know if anyone else is noticing the trend in CFB TV ratings this year but the SEC is crushing it. Way more than normal with their switch to ABC/ESPN. The B1G is getting crushed. I am not too surprised with the Georgia vs. Texas rating but I am for the Bama vs. Tennessee game. It's probably an advantage to have all the conference games on one network. What's amazing is that Texas vs. Michigan drew 6-7m and Bama vs. Wisconsin drew 5m and yet they are not even comparable to their league matchups.

It's pretty clear that regional rivalries matter and the new West coast schools are not bringing the eyeballs. CBS didn't even report the ratings for Wisconsin's match-up with USC since it was so low.

Pre-season rankings don't matter other than that they fuel TV ratings and the B1G generally has it's best match-ups in the second half of the season.

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No changes from last week.

Steelers: Wilson, Watt, Herbig (inactive), Loudermilk, Benton
Jets: Allen, Tippman

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Offered during his visit today.

Not sure if any of you have followed this team, but they are GOOD. Undefeated (8-0), they came back from 3 goals down at Minn, (ranked 2) and won 4-3. They have outscored their opponents now 55-9 (ave almost 7 goals per game) having played both 2 of the best teams (UM Duluth and Minn). Coach Johnson has a strong team, with the Freshman line making huge contributions

Is when more guys are getting up gimpy on the other side of the ball. The Badgers hurt the Wildcats today, fun to see!!

TEAM NOTES

Today’s captains: LB Jake Chaney, S Hunter Wohler, TE Riley Nowakowski and WR Will Pauling.

UW improved to 5-2 on the season and 3-1 in conference action. Wisconsin has won 5 of its last 6 Big Ten Conference games dating back to last season.

After wins over Purdue, Rutgers andNorthwestern, UW has outscored opponents 117-16 in its last 3 games.

The Badgers improved to 63-38-5 all time against Northwestern. The Badgers have now won 3 of the last 4 games in the series and have won back-to-back meetings inEvanston.

It marks the first time the Badgers have won back-to-back games in Evanston since 1997 and 1999.

Wisconsin has won 3 straight Big Ten games, marking the first time since 2021 that UW has accomplished the feat. The 2021 Badgers won 6 straight Big Ten games (7 straight overall) before a loss in the regular season finale at Minnesota.

The Badgers held Northwestern to 209 total yards and 3 points. Over the last 3 games, Wisconsin has allowed only 16 points and 1 TD.

UW has allowed fewer than 300 total yards in each of the last 3 games.

It marks the first time the Badgers have allowed fewer than 10 points in 3 straight Big Ten games since 2021.

The last time Wisconsin allowed only one TD over a 3-game stretch was 2015.

UW’s defense allowed only 82 passing yards, the fewest allowed by the Badgers since Oct. 14, 2023 vs. Iowa when the Badgers allowed just 37 passing yards.

Wisconsin blocked both a punt and afield goal in the win. The Badgers have now blocked 2 punts and 2 field goals over the last 3 games.

Entering the season, the Badgers’ last blocked punt was in 2020 and last blocked field goal in 2018.

The Badger defense recorded a fourth-quarter safety on a sack by Curt Neal and Sebastian Cheeks. The safety was the first for UW’s defense since 2019.

With the victory, the Badgers are one win away from becoming bowl eligible. Wisconsin has played in a bowl game in each of the last 22 seasons, the longest active streak in the Big Ten and the third-longest in FBS football.

ACTIVE BOWL GAME STREAKS

Rk. Team Streak

1. Georgia 26
2. Oklahoma 24
3. Wisconsin 22
4. Alabama 19
5. Clemson 18

Wisconsin has tallied 5+ PBUs in 4 straight games. Prior to this stretch, Mike Tressel’s UW defense had logged 5+ PBUs on only one occasion through 16 games.

The Badger defense allowed Northwestern to complete only 9-of-24 passes for a 37.5% completion rate.

Over the last 2 games, Wisconsin has allowed opponents to complete just 21-of-56 passes for a 37.5% clip.

The longest play of the game that the Northwestern offense mustered was a 29-yard scramble on 4th and 3 by NU QB Jack Lausch at 8:59 of the third quarter.

Wisconsin has not allowed a play over 50yards this season.

The Badgers allowed Northwestern to convert only 2-of-14 third down attempts. Wisconsin has held opponents to a 8-for-42 clip over the last 3 games.

The Badgers committed only 2 penalties for 15 yards. Entering the game, the Badgers were averaging the 10th fewest penalties in the nation (4.3 per game).

The Badgers wore white jerseys, white pants and white helmets with white face-masks.

Coming to town for Penn St. game. Never been to Madison before. Guys all in their 40s.

Looking for places to tailgate/go to prior to game.

I've heard about Lucky's, Jordan's and Sconnie bar. Is one 'better' than another? Or do they offer similar experiences? Maybe just have a drink at all 3?

Or is there an alternative area to check out? I'll be staying downtown - W Johnson and N Bassett

What's the shuttle like w/ Echo Tap prior to the game? How often does it run? Is the traffic crazy on gameday where the shuttle would take just as long as walking?

Thanks!

Anyone else having problems seeing the site through your laptop in Chrome? It works on my phone and iPad, but not Chrome on my desktop...odd

I know that Oregon is pretty good, but really????

Just saw Jeff Goodman reporting Tony Bennett is retiring. Pretty surprising.

Here's the thing: you guys are thinking about early-season Wisconsin. Tyler Van Dyke Wisconsin.

Van Dyke getting hurt against Alabama is going to wind up being the best thing for the Badgers this season (no offense, Tyler). But after transferring from Wisconsin in hopes of a fresh start, it quickly became evident that Van Dyke was washed.

Braedyn Locke will lead Wisconsin the rest of the way. In three starts last season as a freshman, he threw five touchdowns with no interceptions despite starting two road games and a home game against Ohio State.

Since taking over for Van Dyke, he's averaging 226.0 yards per game and has six touchdowns with four interceptions.

Wisconsin is 2-1 with Locke as the starter and hung with USC on the road until late in the game. He threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns against Purdue and then completed 71.4% of his passes for 240 yards against an excellent Rutgers defense.

Wisconsin doesn’t have superstar talent, but they spread the ball around well, with four receivers averaging at least 30 yards per game. Will Pauling is the team’s reliable slot receiver with 25 catches on the season, and Vinny Anthony is the big play threat, averaging 26.1 yards per catch.

The Badgers have averaged 21.6 points per game and 4.8 yards per play in Van Dyke’s three starts and 38.3 per game, and 7.2 yards per play in Locke’s three starts.

In the last two games, Wisconsin has scored 94 points, and I expect this offense to keep rolling for another big number against a Northwestern defense that ranks 74th nationally in Success Rate allowed and 118th in Pass Success Rate allowed.

NU has been a nightmare for us with mostly us beating ourselves. We are on a roll, can it keep going?
1. No turnovers....that has killed us in the past there.
2. OL dominance in the running game AND in protection for Locke.
3. Run like crazy on them so it opens up the passing game. Keep them guessing.
4. Locke with 225+ yards passing.
5. Running game with 200+ yards
6. Asking for another 500 yards of offense is a tough ask, but let's go with 475.
7. The defense that took Monongai out of the game and made him a non factor.
8. Get off the field on 3rd down and don't let this kid use his legs to scramble for it.
9. 2 long plays to Vinny.
10. Purple snot all over the field.

Q: After starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke’s season ended after a torn ACL against Alabama, the Badgers turned to Braedyn Locke, who has shown spurts of potential in three full starts. What have you made of his performances?

Q: The Badgers romped into Piscataway last weekend, taking down Rutgers 42-7. In a dominant performance against the Scarlet Knights, what clicked for Wisconsin? Was it just a continued flash in the pan after walloping Purdue, or is this what Wisconsin is truly capable of?

Q: After a disappointing first season in charge for Luke Fickell, how would you assess how he’s adapted in his second year at the helm? What have you made of Fickell’s coaching this season?

Q: Eighth in the conference in yards per game and yards allowed per game, who are a couple of X-factors on both sides of the football to watch out for this weekend?

Q: After falling to Northwestern in Madison last season, what do you think the Badgers need to do to beat the Wildcats?