Tonight is a trap game if there ever was one and will be a test of the Nittany Lions’ maturity.

Wisconsin (5-2) lacks a signature win, but anyone who has ever been to Madison knows Camp Randall can get rocking if the Badgers are playing well and the visiting team is not. And especially at night.

UW has shaken off a tough September – one-sided losses to Alabama and USC – and has gained momentum with three straight wins (Purdue, Rutgers, Northwestern).

Penn State is 6-0, ranked No. 3 and has its game of the year, vs. Ohio State, looming next Saturday.

In the past few years under James Franklin, the Lions have not been able to hold serve when rated this high and gone on the road – and not just when they’ve run into the Buckeyes and Michigan.

In 2022, 5-0 and ranked No. 4, PSU went to Iowa and lost, triggering a swoon that resulted in six losses in the final eight games.

In 2019, 8-0 and ranked No. 5, the Lions went to No. 13 Minnesota and were beaten 31-26, wrecking that season.

Like this year, Penn State was coming off a bye that day and had yet to face Ohio State.

Franklin is 3-5 following byes.

To nip the past narrative, the Nittany Lions would do well to flex their muscles tonight.

NITPICKING

• Maryland fans stormed the field last week after coming from behind to beat USC in the final minute. There are no hard-and-fast rules on when it’s appropriate to storm the field, but this wouldn’t seem to be one of them. The Terps are 4-3, and the Trojans are 3-4.

• USC has blown leads in each of its losses, but the Trojans still stand as Penn State’s best win followed by Illinois, even though the Illini are ranked. West Virginia, thought to be a respectable opponent, is regressing at 3-4.

• Of Tyler Warren’s 224 yards on 17 receptions at USC, 151 of those came after the catch, an absurd number. Warren came into the game with 115 YAC yards in five games.

• Harrison Wallace made five catches, including two touchdowns, at WVU and has just 12 (and no TVs) in the five games since.

• Oklahoma fired its offensive coordinator this past week, notable because Andy Kotelnicki was considered for the position prior to landing at PSU. You would think Kotelnicki’s next stop would be as a head coach. He’s got the offensive mind and personality for it.

• SEC officiating was in focus last weekend at both the Alabama-Tennessee and Georgia-Texas games. The Tide practically had its last breath taken by an unsportsmanslike penalty when one of its receivers threw a punch – in clear retaliation to a Tennessee player’s taunt. Instead of fourth-and-6, it became fourth-and-22 in Alabama’s loss. Worse, Texas fans pelted the field with beer cans, leading to a reversal of a controversial pass interference call. Though the crew managed to get the call right, the clean-up delay seemed to be the impetus, which sets a dangerous precedent.

• Life in the (expanded) Big Ten: Rutgers went to USC on Friday night for an 11 p.m. eastern time kickoff. So if you know any Rutgers fans, let them sleep in today.

Neil Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com. He will respond to brief questions and comments in Gameday.