Wisconsin needs to tackle better, find cohesion to beat Penn State

It wasn’t a good week in Happy Valley, either.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Call Wisconsin’s defense a work in progress.

Coach Bret Bielema is worried that some younger defenders are playing tentatively, and that experienced teammates might be pressing too hard to make plays.

No. 19 Wisconsin needs to regroup in a hurry — another tough road test awaits today against the Penn State Nittany Lions, who are eager to play football following a turbulent week off the field in Happy Valley.

“We got to kind of get those two in line and in check for us to be able to have success on Saturday,” Bielema said about building defensive cohesiveness.

Tackling has been a major concern for the battered Badgers (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten), who saw their 14-game winning streak snapped last week after a 31-26 loss to Illinois. Wisconsin might be known for physical play, but opponents the last two weeks have been shredding the defense for 265 rushing yards per game.

So the Badgers went back to focusing on some basics in practice.

“Tackling can’t be changed overnight,” Bielema said. “It’s something that, you know, has to be instilled in someone, and you can get better at it during the course of the week.”

But midway through the season, the defense statistically is getting worse. The Badgers are ninth in the Big Ten in rush defense (152.8 yards per game) and eighth in total defense (368.8 ypg).

Today’s game might serve as the perfect opportunity for the Nittany Lions (4-2, 1-2) and their resurgent running attack to climb back into the thick of the Big Ten race.

Slashing 5-foot-9 tailback Rodney Kinlaw ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries in last week’s win over Iowa, making fans forget about teammate Austin Scott. Scott was suspended for violating an undisclosed team rule last week and charged by authorities Friday with raping a woman at his on-campus apartment.

A fifth-year senior who sat on the bench most of his career, Kinlaw has a renewed confidence after having split carries with Scott the previous two weeks.

“Yeah, I kind of see myself as the primary back now,” Kinlaw said. “Even though I’m a small back, I don’t take a lot of big hits.”

Whether Kinlaw can stand up to the pounding of the rough-and-tough Big Ten week after week remains a question. Redshirt freshman Evan Royster also impressed last week in spelling Kinlaw, though he suffered a bruised left thigh.

Coach Joe Paterno said Royster should be able to play.