MADISON, Wis. — Jaylen Reed’s third-quarter pick-six against Wisconsin Saturday night in Camp Randall Stadium not only gave the Nittany Lions a lead they never relinquished. It underscored a promise made just a few minutes earlier.
“The DBs came over to me and said we got your back,” said quarterback Beau Pribula, who took over in the second half for an injured Drew Allar.
Pribula and the PSU offense had gotten off to a slow start in the second half, with Penn State trailing 10-7. Two drives, 10 plays, 39 yards, two punts.
“Then,” Pribula recounted after the game, “they came up with the pick-six. So, they did have my back. That play took some pressure off. When we have plays like that and put points on the board, it makes my job easier. They literally had my back.”
After intercepting Badgers quarterback Braedyn Locke, Reed raced 19 yards to the end zone for a touchdown. Penn State took the lead 14-10, and never trailed again. Pribula responded by leading two prodigious scoring drives of 81 yards on 13 plays in 7:35 (ending with a Pribula TD pass to Khalil Dinkins) and 76 yards in nine plays in 5:15.
Reed’s interception meant more than just Penn State taking the lead. Much more.
“It’s momentum,” said Penn State coach James Franklin. “I don’t know if it was necessarily the lead; I would say probably more momentum. Momentum is a real thing. That was a big play in the game to swing the momentum. And I think from that point on, we were really able to take control of the game.”
The effect of Reed’s well-timed TD on his teammates, and not just Pribula, was palpable. Don’t just take Franklin’s word for it.
“We just knew it was a matter of time until our defense made a big play,” said linebacker and co-captain Dom DeLuca. “It brought up the whole morale of the team. It brought everyone together. You had guys from the offense running down the field to celebrate with Jay Reed. You just don’t see that a lot.”
The 28-13 victory over Wisconsin was Penn State’ second consecutive win — separated by a bye week — where it came from behind to stay undefeated. Two weeks ago in Los Angeles, Penn State was trailing 20-6 at halftime, but rallied to win the game, 33-30, in overtime on a 36-yard field goal by Ryan Barker. The Nittany Lions led for all of 15 seconds in that game. (True. Not a typo.)
No matter. They are now 7-0, and are increasingly showing a resiliency that all of the great teams have. The Nittany Lions are on a roll as they head into this Saturday’s game, where they host a somewhat-reeling Ohio State (6-1) in a huge showdown at high noon in Beaver Stadium. Accentuating the enormity of it all is the two major network pregame shows will both be setting up shop Saturday morning outside the Bryce Jordan Center. FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff will be outside gate B, while ESPN’s College GameDay will be outside Gate C.
So does this. After the comeback win against Wisconsin, I asked DeLuca if Reed’s interception was the play of the game.
DeLuca is an even-keel kinda guy, short but succinct in his replies. But always insightful. He smiled. “I would say so.”
“Play of the year?” I responded.
DeLuca chuckled, and shook his head. “We still have a lot ahead of us. A lot of football to play.”
Reed himself echoed those sentiments.
“We’re resilient,” said Reed. “We can step up any time, any moment, any game. We have another big game coming next week, back in Beaver. We have to get healthy, we have to get our minds right. We got to get to it.”
