MADISON, Wis. - Eleven Wisconsin defensive players staring down Penn State at the Badgers' 3 didn't see what coach Gary Andersen saw.
Too bad for Wisconsin he wasn't standing close enough to the officials to let them know it, too.
With nobody lined up on receiver Eugene Lewis, Andersen started a mad dash up the Wisconsin sideline, signaling timeout and yelling for one as well.
By the time he reached the side judge along the goal line, quarterback Christian Hackenberg had accepted the snap and thrown an easy touchdown pass to an uncovered Lewis, the Wyoming Valley West product who simply jogged into the end zone.
It may have been the craziest play in Penn State's stunning 31-24 triumph over No. 15 Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday. It certainly was the one that changed the momentum for the Nittany Lions, who had just gone down 14-7 and were potentially staring at a halftime deficit.
"I realized there was no corner out there, so I motioned to Hackenberg, 'Hurry up. Hurry up,' " Lewis said. "You just never know what's going to happen there, and we ended up on the good side."
The redshirt freshman ended up on the good side of a few key plays that pushed the Nittany Lions toward the upset.
He broke free on a third-and-7 early in the fourth quarter, hauling in a perfectly thrown pass from Hackenberg for a 59-yard score and a decisive 31-14 lead that sent Badgers fans heading for the gates.
On the night, he hauled in three passes for 91 yards with those two key scores, a breakout game for a receiver who might have to be counted on to fill junior Allen Robinson's shoes, should he head for the NFL in 2014.
"He has made a ton of progress," coach Bill O'Brien said of Lewis. "He works extremely hard. He has become a good route runner, and he can become an even better route runner. He's a good deep ball route runner, and he has worked on his running style, if that makes sense. He has become more like a receiver."
It wasn't until after he had scored the touchdown and the crowd hushed that Lewis heard Andersen frantically screaming for a timeout.
Wisconsin's first-year head coach didn't get the call, and he threw his hat to the ground in disgust during a heated exchange with the officials.
Fresh start
Penn State showed it was going to be a formidable foe for the Badgers on its opening drive.
Hackenberg, who completed 21-of-30 passes for 339 yards and four touchdowns, threw a perfect pass to fellow true freshman Adam Breneman, the speedy tight end who separated himself from the Badgers' secondary for a 68-yard touchdown.
It was the longest play from scrimmage this season for the Nittany Lions and the first of four plays of more than 50 yards they made in the game.
They came into the game having made five such plays all season.
"I think a big part of our offense being able to execute pretty well is being able to make plays downfield," Breneman said. "The last few weeks, we weren't making as many of those plays."
Captains named
The Nittany Lions elected season captains during the week leading up to the game, naming five seniors to the honor.
Guard John Urschel and center Ty Howle represented the offense, while linebacker Glenn Carson and tackle DaQuan Jones were voted in on the defense. The special teams captain is senior fullback Pat Zerbe.
Last game, first start
Freshman linebacker Brandon Bell was so impressive in the Nittany Lions' bitter loss to Nebraska on Nov. 23, he got the honor of shutting the revolving door of starters opposite junior Mike Hull at linebacker in the season finale.
Bell became the fourth different linebacker to start at that spot opposite the Nittany Lions' second-leading tackler. He joined Valley View grad Nyeem Wartman, senior Stephen Obeng-Agyapong and now-injured Ben Kline.
Jump around
Wisconsin's traditional "Jump Around" occurred at its typical time in the student section, just before the start of the fourth quarter. But Penn State's offensive line was jumping around all night.
In an otherwise strong performance, in a game where there were few negatives for the Nittany Lions, Penn State was whistled for a whopping eight pre-snap penalties. Left tackle Donovan Smith was called four times for a false start. Tackle Adam Gress and guards John Urschel and Miles Dieffenbach each got caught once. And that's not to mention the illegal snap call against center Ty Howle.
"Not good," O'Brien said. "We hadn't done that all year. We have to make sure we make some change and get that coached up. That was bad football."
Nittany notes
RB Zach Zwinak rushed for 115 yards, including a 61-yard rush in the fourth quarter that helped Penn State bleed the clock with a seven-point lead. But he finished 11 yards short of 1,000 yards, meaning the Nittany Lions' string of having a 1,000-yard rusher was snapped at eight consecutive seasons. ... CB Adrian Amos left the game after one series with a foot injury. Safety Malcolm Willis didn't play in the second half with a slight shoulder injury. ... Kicker Sam Ficken didn't end the season as strongly as he started it. After having a first-quarter attempt blocked and pushing his potential game-sealer with 31 seconds wide right, he missed six of his last 12 field goal attempts.