GAME NOTES: Hoping to start a new winning streak, the 19th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers come to Happy Valley to challenge the Penn State Nittany Lions. Wisconsin's 14-game run of success, the nation's longest at the time, came to an end with last week's 31-26 setback at Illinois. The Badgers are now 5-1 on the year and fell off the pace in the race for the Big Ten title. Bret Bielema is a stellar 17-2 as the man in charge in Madison, and he will have to do one of his more masterful coaching jobs to get his team back in the winning frame of mind, particularly in light of this week's opponent. Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions put the brakes on a two-game slide by knocking off visiting Iowa last week, 27-7. The win was the team's first in conference this year following a pair of losses to Michigan and Illinois. Penn State is a perfect 4-0 at home and this game marks the team's first of the year against a ranked foe. It's Homecoming at PSU, and the Lions are an impressive 36-5 in such games under Paterno. Wisconsin owns an 8-4 lead in the all-time series with Penn State, getting there in large part due to wins in five of the last seven meetings. In addition, the Badgers have come away victorious in two of their last three trips to Beaver Stadium.

Despite nearly 400 passing yards from QB Tyler Donovan, Wisconsin lost its first game of the season last week at Illinois. Donovan set new career highs in pass attempts (49), completions (27) and yards (392), and his yardage total was the third-highest in program history. Travis Beckum leads all TEs nationally with 41 catches for 485 yards, and he too enjoyed a career day against the Illini, logging 11 grabs for 160 yards. The UW offense picked up 28 first downs and finished with 519 total yards, but star RB P.J. Hill wound up with just 83 yards on 21 totes -- not horrible but certainly not in line with the 125 ypg he typically churns out. He did score a TD in the setback, giving him 11 for the year and 27 for his career. Donovan is a 60 percent passer on the year, and he is averaging 233 ypg with 11 TDs and five INTs. Overall, the Badgers are scoring 31.2 ppg while rolling up 430.2 total ypg.

The UW defense took it on the chin last week at Illinois, as the Illini used the potent one-two punch of Rashard Mendenhall and Isiah Williams to batter the Badgers on the ground. When the dust had settled, Illinois amassed 310 yards and three TDs rushing. Jonathan Casillas led Wisconsin with 10 tackles, while Matt Shaughnessy posted two of the team's five TFLs on the day. Through six games, Casillas leads the club with 43 stops, while Nick Hayden heads the team with three sacks. Foes are scoring 23.8 ppg against the Badgers, doing so behind 368.8 total ypg. The Badgers have 15 sacks to their credit, but just three INTs and only four total takeaways. Wisconsin has done a terrific job making adjustments at halftime, shutting down the opposition to the tune of 8.8 ppg over the final two periods.

Unheralded RB Rodney Kinlaw had a career day in Penn State's 27-7 win over Iowa last week, rushing for 168 yards and two TDs. Kinlaw, who typically splits time with Austin Scott, was the main man for Paterno's club as Scott missed the game due to suspension and is expected to do the same this week. Freshman Evan Royster got his hands on the ball as well, finishing with 86 yards on 16 totes. Senior QB Anthony Morelli hit the mark on 18-of-31 pass attempts for 233 yards with a TD and two INTs, spreading the ball around to seven different receivers. Deon Butler led the way with 55 receiving yards. Through six games, Morelli is completing 58.3 percent of his throws for 221.3 ypg with 10 TDs and six picks. Kinlaw is the team's leading rusher with 547 yards, or an average of 91.2 ypg. He and Scott have combined for six rushing scores. Derrick Williams, Jordan Norwood and Butler make up one of the top receiving trios in the Big Ten, despite scoring just four TDs collectively to this point.

The Penn State defense has been tough against the run all season long, and last week was no exception as the Hawkeyes managed just 48 net rushing yards behind an average of only 1.7 ypc. Iowa picked up just eight first downs and the Lions notched five sacks on the day. Sean Lee and Dan Connor had yet another productive afternoon from their linebacker spots, logging 11 and nine tackles, respectively. The PSU defense has allowed just 11 TDs in the past 12 games. At the halfway point, Lee is the team's top tackler with 63, but Connor is hot on his heels with 58. Maurice Evans has made 11 stops behind the line of scrimmage, five of which have been sacks. In all, the Nittany Lions have totaled 55 TFLs, including 24 sacks -- both of which rank the club among the nation's elite.

How the Badgers respond now that their lengthy winning streak is over will go a long way to determining the final outcome of this one. Expect Bielema to have his troops focused on the task at hand, and while the Nittany Lions are going to fight tooth and nail, Wisconsin will get back in the win column.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Wisconsin 23, Penn State 17