Wisconsin football had beaten ranked teams under head coach Luke Fickell (Illinois, Washington last fall). It had orchestrated an improbable comeback on the road (Illinois in 2023).

But what the Badgers hadn't yet done under Fickell is upset a top-15 team, on the road no less, for a massive statement win to kick off conference play.

There's still a lot more season to be played, of course, and time will tell if this win is as meaningful as it feels heading into Week 5. But sitting at 3-1, with a 1-0 mark in Big Ten play, Wisconsin has to feel pretty good about itself as it gears up for homecoming against Michigan State this weekend. Here's a handful of reactions from the Badgers' huge win in Happy Valley:

This defense could be really, really good

Penn State was obviously without star receiver Koby Howard, and after the game Badgers players said they weren't sure how the Nittany Lions would adjust on offense. They sure played like they knew exactly what was coming from the Penn State offense, however; Wisconsin's defense put forth a truly herculean effort at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State scored 20 points. But seven of those came off a Colton Joseph pick-six. Its only other touchdown, a 3-yard QB keeper from Rocco Becht, came after another Joseph interception that gifted the Nittany Lions an extremely short field from the Badgers' 11-yard line.

Wisconsin's defense didn't allow a full, proper touchdown drive; in fact, the longest and furthest it let Penn State drive was a 13-play, 56-yard series that resulted in a field goal. Before Penn State's last possession and final chance to try to win the game, the Badgers forced four straight three-and-outs.

“I’m incredibly proud of those guys. I’m incredibly proud of Coach Tress. In case you guys don’t know, that quarterback is a really good football player," Fickell said after the game.

Becht finished 12-of-29 passing (41% completion) for 129 yards and an interception. Penn State picked up 119 rushing yards but only 3.3 yards per carry. Wisconsin notched five TFLs and two sacks.

The Nittany Lions' offense obviously isn't the same without Howard. But as Fickell said, Becht is a legit quarterback and there's still plenty of skill position talent in Happy Valley. If Wisconsin can bring that kind of defensive intensity each and every week, it's going to be exceedingly hard to move the ball on these Badgers.

If Wisconsin can upset a top-15 team on the road with that kind of offensive performance...

Just how good could this team be? Again, the defense was absolutely incredible. But the offense was miserable for most of the game, and the Badgers still found a way to win. Think about how this game would've looked if Joseph didn't practically hand Penn State 14 points.

Now, at this point, if you haven't accepted that Joseph is going to make a couple of boneheaded throws each week, I don't know what to tell you. It's part of his game. He certainly can and needs to take better care of the football if Wisconsin is going to keep winning big games this fall.

But Joseph balances his sometimes reckless arrogance throwing the football with an elite mental fortitude to move on from his mistakes and bounce back to make high-level plays. Not many quarterbacks who'd already throw three interceptions could lead their team on two straight long scoring drives, tossing two gorgeous touchdowns and stealing a win in that environment.

If Wisconsin paired its suffocating defensive performance with even an average offensive showing, it could've beat Penn State handily. That should have Badgers fans excited for what this team can accomplish.

This team is fully bought in

No team comes back from a 17-0 deficit on the road in one of the toughest venues in the country against a top-15 team without being fully bought into their program and what their head coach preaches day in and day out. These Badgers are connected. They care. They believe.

The same couldn't be said about previous iterations of Wisconsin football under Fickell. There's no doubt in my mind that last year's team, even the version that started to find itself in the final five games, would've crumbled after going down by three scores on the road in a raucous environment.

What Fickell when asked if he considered benching Joseph illustrates the point I'm trying to make to a tee:

"Some of those things you just try to get a feel for the team, too. You look in their eyes. If Colton looked rattled, I think we would have a conversion about it, but we never did. But because the way he was, the way the offensive line was…Even the defense, I thought at times, you’d start to see a little something, but they didn’t," he said.

Fickell stuck with his struggling QB1 because his team did too. And obviously, Joseph rewarded them in the best way possible.