Wisconsin vs Penn State Picks and Prediction for Saturday September 26 2026

By: Kim Smith Published 09/20/2026, 11:20 PM ET

The Wisconsin Badgers visit the No. 14 Penn State Nittany Lions at West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, September 26, 2026. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM ET with coverage on Peacock. Penn State enters with momentum after overwhelming Buffalo 55-13, while Wisconsin faces a difficult Big Ten road assignment against an opponent that has won the last five meetings in the series. At the time of this writing the odds were not released. Be sure to check out our free college football picks for more NCAAF predictions throughout the season.

Wisconsin Tries to End a Difficult Series Run

Wisconsin has struggled badly in its recent meetings with Penn State. The Badgers lost 28-13 in 2024, 16-10 in 2021, 22-10 in 2018 and 38-31 in the 2016 Big Ten Championship Game. Penn State owns a 12-9 overall advantage in the series.

The encouraging aspect for Wisconsin is that several of those games remained relatively low scoring. The Badgers have traditionally had their best chance when they can control possession, establish a physical running game and prevent Penn State from generating repeated explosive scoring opportunities.

That formula becomes even more important at Beaver Stadium. Wisconsin cannot afford turnovers or repeated three-and-outs because Penn State has already shown what happens when it gets favorable game scripts. The Badgers need to make this a physical Big Ten game rather than allowing the Nittany Lions to dictate tempo.

Penn State Is Rolling at Beaver Stadium

Penn State enters after a 55-13 victory over Buffalo, another comfortable home performance for a team ranked No. 14 nationally. The Nittany Lions created separation early enough that the outcome was never seriously threatened.

The recent series history also favors Penn State. Wisconsin has not beaten the Nittany Lions since 2011, and Penn State has repeatedly held the Badgers to modest offensive totals. Wisconsin scored 13 or fewer in each of the last three meetings.

The handicapping question is margin. Penn State is clearly capable of winning comfortably, but Wisconsin represents a significant increase in physicality from Buffalo. If the Badgers successfully shorten the game, Penn State may control the matchup without creating the enormous margin seen last week.