Wisconsin, Ball roll into Penn State for finale

If 1,400 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns are disappointing, imagine what the Wisconsin star senior can do in a good season.

This is the predicament facing the Nittany Lions (7-4, 5-2 Big Ten) when Ball and the Badgers (7-4, 4-3) roll into Happy Valley in the regular season finale Saturday.

"I looked at his stats and was like, 'He's having a down year?'" Morris said. "You can't take anything away from that. He might make some big plays on Saturday. We're going to have our plays, too."

One more touchdown would give Ball 79 career scores, breaking a tie for the major college record set by Travis Prentice of Miami (Ohio) in 1999. With two straight games of at least 191 yards rushing, Ball might be the best player on the cold Beaver Stadium turf.

Temperatures aren't expected to rise past the mid-30s and should fall throughout the game, starting at mid-afternoon. Snow flurries might fall, too.

It's the type of old-school football weather that pumps up the adrenaline of Penn State coach Bill O'Brien.

"It's Thanksgiving, and you're practicing and this is what football is all about: Wisconsin versus Penn State," O'Brien said this week. "I heard maybe it's going to snow, which would be great. Wouldn't that be great? This is football to me, this is football."

But a game that, on the surface, doesn't mean much in the Big Ten standings. Wisconsin has already locked up a berth in next week's conference title game because the two teams ahead of the Badgers in the Leaders Division — Ohio State and Penn State — are ineligible for postseason play because of NCAA sanctions. Officially, the fourth-ranked Buckeyes are the Leaders Division champs.

Wisconsin is the beneficiary of this wacky year — third place in the Leaders Division is good enough to get a shot at getting into the Rose Bowl.

But the Badgers aren't making any excuses. Coach Bret Bielema said he doesn't plan to hold any of his players back in the game, so long as they're healthy and depending on the "ebb and flow" of the contest.

Wisconsin would like to bounce back from last week's 21-14 overtime loss to No. 4 Ohio State and regain momentum heading into the league title game.