(12) Penn State (2-1) at Wisconsin (3-0)

Wisconsin lost its leading rusher from 2003 shortly before opening this season, and then its No. 2 all-time rusher went down with an injury in the first game of the year.

That hasn’t prevented the Badgers from staying undefeated.

Wisconsin looks to open a season with four straight wins for the second time in three years when it hosts Penn State on Saturday in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

The 20th-ranked Badgers (3-0) announced in late August that leading rusher Dwayne Smith would not play for them again because of a heart disorder.

As a sophomore last season, Smith led the team with 857 yards and nine touchdowns, becoming the starter when Anthony Davis was lost to an ankle injury. Smith was set to be Davis’ backup this season.

Smith’s loss made Davis’ health even more critical as Wisconsin headed into this season. Davis, however, had to leave Wisconsin’s season-opening 34-6 rout of Central Florida because of an eye injury.

That pushed Booker Stanley into a more prominent role, and he’s risen to the challenge. The junior tailback has 184 rushing yards in the last two games, and had the best game of his career in Wisconsin’s 9-7 win over Arizona last Saturday.

In a soggy game delayed for 88 minutes in the second quarter because of lightning associated with Tropical Storm Javier, Stanley ran for a career-high 135 yards on 30 carries, including a 7-yard TD with 14:21 to play.

Mike Allen, who missed the conversion try that would’ve tied the score after Stanley’s TD, kicked a 23-yard field goal with 3:47 left for what proved to be the game winner for the Badgers.

“We just stuck with it and kept pushing,” Stanley said. “I started breaking more tackles late in the game. I just kept running. I knew it was going to open up sooner or later. It eventually opened up when it counted.”

Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez said Davis could return for Wisconsin’s Oct. 2 matchup against Illinois.

“Ultimately I believe it’s going to have to be Anthony’s decision, but that was our initial shooting date,” Alvarez said.

Penn State (2-1) also features a strong running game with Tony Hunt leading the way. The Nittany Lions have 672 rushing yards this season, and Hunt has accounted for 303.

Only Hunt’s consistent running spared Penn State from an embarrassing loss last Saturday. He ran for 125 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Nittany Lions overcame six turnovers to beat Central Florida 37-13.

Quarterback Zack Mills had four fumbles and two interceptions—the most turnovers in a game by Penn State since a 42-21 loss at Alabama in 1982. He also threw four interceptions in the Nittany Lions’ 21-7 loss to Boston College on Sept. 11.

“I’m really concerned about it,” Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. “I think we need to do a much better job protecting the football, be careful with the passes we make, that kind of thing. I hope most of it’s correctable, but we’ll have to wait and see.

“If we turn the ball over six times, I don’t care who we take on … we’re going to get licked.”

Wisconsin beat Penn State 30-23 last season, and has won three of the last four meetings. The Badgers are 6-3 all-time against the Nittany Lions.