Botched Penn State snap leads to a Wisconsin TD (Video)

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley (9) is pressured by Wisconsin Badgers linebacker T.J. Watt (42) in the first half during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports /

Penn State is proving that you can’t make any mistakes against Wisconsin’s defense. A bad snap extends the Badgers’ lead to 21-7.

All season long, Wisconsin has been winning games because of their defense. And now that they’re in the Big Ten Championship Game, they want to prove the old adage that defense wins championships. They’ve done a great job of holding Trace McSorley’s unit in check, but they were still hanging in there.

In the second quarter, though, Penn State made a critical mistake when their center snapped the ball over McSorley’s head. The Badgers proceeded to swarm all over the ball, and Ryan Connelly punched it in to the end zone:

"High snap = Points. This Wisconsin D is tough. #OnWisconsin #B1GFCG https://t.co/1kERHndvq3— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 4, 2016"

If there’s one silver lining for McSorley, it’s that this wasn’t on him. However, this offensive line hasn’t done a good job of containing Wisconsin’s pass rush, and that’s bad news going forward.

As great as Penn State has been, they haven’t faced a defense as good as Wisconsin’s. The last time they did was when they played Michigan, and we all know how that ended. The Lions pretty much have to play mistake free football from here on out, and even that might not be enough to win the game.

Even if Penn State comes up short in this contest, there would be no shame in losing to Wisconsin. Very few people, save for some Penn State die-hards, predicted they would be in the Big Ten title game, and fewer people thought they could make the College Football Playoff. No matter what happens, this season should be considered a success.

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Wisconsin, meanwhile, will want to give the Playoff Committee as hard of a time as possible. “We Want Bama” has become somewhat of a meme in the college football community, but given how strong their defense is, they might feel like they could go toe-to-toe with the Crimson Tide. Of course, it would be an ugly 9-6 type game, but that’s better than what most of their opponents could say.

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