Wisconsin shoots themselves in the foot with a pick late to drop their home opener to Penn State

Wisconsin- The Badgers comes up short against Penn State 16-10.

The Badgers opened their first home game against Penn State. Not much offense happened until Chez Mellusi ran for a touchdown in the third quarter. Penn State answered right back with a touchdown of their own to make the game interesting in the fourth.

Wisconsin hit a field goal to go up 10-7 at the start of the fourth. It seemed like it was just a matter of time before Wisconsin broke the game open, but on the defensive side of the ball, missed tackles plagued them. After stopping Penn State in the redzone and forcing them to kick a filed goal, momentum started to shift to Penn State.

After going three and out, the Badgers made some key mistakes that cost them. A couple plays later the Nittany Lions punch a ticket to the endzone, but missed the PAT to go atop of Wisconsin 16-10.

With five minutes left in regulation, the Badgers got a call in the favor. On a third and short, Graham Mertz tried to take off running to get the first, but was popped by a Penn State defender very close to his head. After a close review, the referee decided that it was targeting and the player was ejected.

The Badgers took the penalty and marched right down the field to potentially score a touchdown. On a fourth and goal, Mertz threw a pick and just like that, Wisconsin walked away with a heartbreaking loss.