The Badgers will look to make it four straight victories with what would be a defining win early in the Luke Fickell era.

Below are three keys to the game, as well as BadgerBlitz.com staff predictions.

When: Saturday, Oct.26 (6:30 P.M. CT)

Where: Camp Randall Stadium (capacity 76,057)

All-Time Series: Penn State leads, 11-9 (Wisconsin leads 6-5 in Madison)

TV: NBC (Noah Eagle on play-by-play, Todd Blackledge as the analyst and Kathryn Tappen as the sideline reporter)

Local Radio: Badger Sports Network (Matt Lepay on play-by-play, Mark Tauscher as the analyst, Patrick Herb as the sideline reporter)

Betting line: Penn State -6.5

Projected game-time weather: 49 degrees with light winds

Wisconsin's offensive guru Phil Longo seems to be gaining confidence each week as his offense performs better and better, and that's resulted in some creative play-calls that've helped the Badgers move the football in slightly unorthodox ways. He'll absolutely need to keep that up against Penn State, because aside from two poor halves against Bowling Green and USC, it's been tough sledding against this Nittany Lions' defense.

In particular, Longo needs to get creative in the ground game. He's done that in recent weeks, sprinkling in some jet sweeps and reverses, as well as some more obscure running concepts like the pitch-counter Cade Yacamelli scored on in Evanston. That will need to continue against the 11th-ranked run defense on the nation with a defensive front that boasts shoe-in first-round draft choice Abdul Carter, among many others who will play on Sundays.

The Badgers may find that some of their core offensive concepts don't work as well against one of the more athletic defenses they've faced. That's fine; that tends to happen against the No. 3 team in the country. But Tawee Walker shouldn't be the end-all, be-all for this rushing attack. Vinny Anthony should log some carries. So should Trech Kekahuna. Wisconsin will need every last playmaker to touch the ball in order to topple Penn State.

Pressuring the quarterback is a key to victory in every football game, but it'll be especially important Saturday night in Madison. If Wisconsin can't speed up Drew Allar's reads and internal clock, he'll have no trouble surgically distributing the ball to his eligibles. The gunslinger is simply too talented.

No one was scared of Penn State's offense last year in Allar's first season as a starter. While it still doesn't necessarily strike fear into you the way some of the other top ranked teams in the AP poll do, this offense has taken big strides under first-year play-caller Andy Kotelnicki.

Most notably, Kotelnicki has opened up this offense and allowed it to create more explosive plays. Allar is no longer a dink-and-dunk specialist: his yards-per-attempt has jumped from 6.8 to 10.2 this fall. These Nittany Lions can create big plays via both the air and ground.

That being said, the Badgers must create havoc. Sebastian Cheeks needs to continue his ascension as an outside linebacker. Elijah Hills must remain a violent force in the trenches. Non pass-rush specialists, such as Jaheim Thomas and Hunter Wohler, may need to be sent on a handful of designed blitzes. It'll be crucial to keep Allar guessing; he can't know how much heat is coming or where it's coming from. Confuse and pressure the signal-caller, and Wisconsin will have a shot.

A big part of Wisconsin's complete performances the past three weeks has been special teams. Matt Mitchell's unit is firing on all cylinders, save for maybe his place-kicker Nathanial Vakos, who's missed two kicks in as many weeks. Still, this unit has flipped the field, pinned teams deep and created splashy plays in the return game. That'll need to continue against the Nittany Lions.

Now, there's nothing specific about Penn State, no readily apparent weakness that stands out on film that would indicate Wisconsin has some sort of special teams advantage. But playing a team against whom most in the country would call you overmatched, it's important to win in every phase of the game and play complimentary football. Wisconsin's special teams has been the cherry on top of the past three dominant victories, a nice touch but not necessarily the key to the Badgers' success. Saturday night, in what should be a tight contest, proficiency on special teams could be the difference between 6-2 and 5-3 for Wisconsin.

I think this is a four-quarter game at Camp Randall Stadium, but ultimately, Wisconsin’s offense figures to struggle a bit against the best defense it’s played since Alabama. What’s more, the Nittany Lions showed some serious growth and moxie in that 14-point comeback against USC two weeks ago. If there’s a time for Fickell’s first signature win in Madison, it’s Saturday night. Still, give me Penn State in what could be a heartbreaker for Badger fans.

Penn State 26, Wisconsin 23

While the Badgers have shown enough improvement to deserve optimism, I don’t think they’re quite talented enough in certain areas to beat a team as good as Penn State. I foresee a competitive three quarters, then a heartbreaker from Allar in the fourth to cement a win.

Penn State 31, Wisconsin 21

There's no better opportunity for Luke Fickell's signature win with the Badgers. Penn State is solid, but this is a team Wisconsin should be able to battle with for four quarters. A little Camp Randall night magic puts the home team on top late in the fourth quarter.

Wisconsin 28, Penn State 24

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