The Wisconsin Badgers lost a disappointing game to the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions 28-13 at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, moving them to 5-3 on the season and 3-2 in the conference.

Wisconsin was coming off a strong three-week run, outscoring opponents 117-16 during its winning streak, but things came to a halt on Saturday as the Badgers were unable to advance in the second half after taking the lead in had passed half time.

Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin's 28-13 loss to Penn State.

Problems in the passing game

It was a tough night for Wisconsin's passing attack, as quarterback Braedyn Locke completed just 22/42 passes for 217 yards and one interception in the loss.

After an early field goal drive set up by an impromptu conversion of a fake punt by Atticus Bertrams, the Badgers' problems began on their second drive.

When faced with a 2nd-and-9 at his own 40-yard line, Braedyn Locke found Will Pauling coming through the middle with plenty of room in front of him for a potential 20-yard gain . Instead, the slot wideout dropped the ball, giving Wisconsin a 3rd & long. The Badgers actually converted with Locke extending the play to find Trech Kekahuna, but a holding penalty negated the play and the drive.

The Badgers failed to capitalize on the opportunity to move into Penn State territory with the lead.

On their next offensive drive, the Badgers had some momentum and scored consecutive first downs. But that stalled when Trech Kekahuna dropped a bubble screen on a 1st-and-10, putting Wisconsin in an awkward situation on the next two downs, leading to a punt after Braedyn Locke on 3rd-and-7. missed the sticks. Kekahuna also had a catchable pass early in the drive on a difficult play where Locke passed a pass well between defenders but the wideout couldn't follow through with it.

The problems only began from there when Pauling dropped his second pass over the middle again on the next drive, missing an opportunity with space in front of him after cleverly sending his defender on first down. Braedyn Locke narrowly missed a comeback against CJ Williams on third down, once again ending the drive.

However, Wisconsin got on the field on their next drive to close out the half and managed a 10-play, 73-yard touchdown drive to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.

Looking ahead to the second half, the turning point came when Braedyn Locke threw an ugly pick-six trying to score Tucker Ashcraft. As the pressure mounted, Locke tried to put Ashcraft in the lead, but somehow didn't take into account that the zone safety was right there to intercept the pass, resulting in Penn State taking the lead. A punt would have been a better situation there, but the momentum changed and Wisconsin played from behind from there.

Wisconsin got some momentum on its next drive and got to Penn State's 17-yard line on 3rd-and-9. However, the Badgers engineered a play for Locke to find Vinny Anthony on a two-yard slant with the ball thrown well in front of the upright and the Nittany Lions prepared well, forcing a field goal.

That field goal was offset by a Penn State touchdown, putting Wisconsin in a tough spot with 10:01 remaining and trailing by eight. Penn State defensive end Amin Vanover found Riley Mahlman on a 3rd & 7 with a great spin move that led to a rushed and errant throw by Braedyn Locke, forcing the punt that ultimately sealed the game for the Nittany Lions .

Penn State scored another touchdown on their next drive, making it a 28-13 game on a day full of missed opportunities for the Badgers.

They had their chances, but the passing game was a brutal day, mixed with five drops and a series of missed throws from Braedyn Locke, including a costly pick-six. Locke also faced more pressure than in recent weeks, as Penn State's front seemed to make him uncomfortable with simulated pressure up the middle to deny the quarterback the most favorable throwing routes.

If you look at it, Wisconsin wanted to beat Penn State in its base package, which led to a number of first down throws. They had the chances there but missed them, as I explained in the article.

Now the Iowa Hawkeyes face another tough defense.

End game

The Badgers have had a great running offense in recent weeks with Tawee Walker leading the way. Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition on Saturday as the gain was just 59 yards and 22 carries were scored, an average of 2.7 yards per rush.

This was a game in the trenches, and Penn State's front line dominated this battle, as Walker had just 1.02 yards from contact per rush while rushing for 12 yards.

Without a consistent rushing attack, Wisconsin was constantly pushed back and faced an average third-down yardage of 8.1 yards, which was too much to overcome when factoring in issues in the passing game.

Wisconsin's 81 rushing yards were bolstered by the fact that punter Atticus Bertrams had a 15-yard rush on the fake, which happened to be the Badgers' longest run of the game.

Darrion Dupree didn't have much success either, managing only three yards on three carries as Wisconsin was completely out of action on the ground.

On the other hand, Penn State found a way to rush for 176 yards and a touchdown on 5.2 yards per carry, not including sacks. Kaytron Allen led the way with 86 yards on 11 carries, but the Badgers were able to limit Nick Singleton enough as the defender managed 49 yards on 12 carries.

For the Badgers, it was a day to forget on the floor.

The defense holds

When a top-three team comes to town, it's usually a tall order to pull off an upset. But Wisconsin had a chance to really pull away in this game and it was because of their defense.

Mike Tressel's unit was strong for the most part in this game, as they limited Penn State to just one offensive touchdown in the first three quarters.

The Nittany Lions had an efficient aerial attack, throwing for 246 yards and two touchdowns on 25/31 passing. They also had the efficient rushing attack. Still, it only produced 21 offensive points, 14 of which came in the final quarter.

Wisconsin forced a turnover on downs on Penn State's first drive and later had five straight punts against the Nittany Lions before the two final touchdown drives.

The Badgers didn't really come under pressure, but held their own in the secondary while the team played just enough in time to give the offense chances.

Unfortunately, the effort wasn't good enough in the end, but the Badgers had their chances on Saturday and a big part of that was thanks to the defense.