MADISON, Wis. -- Matt Bernstein celebrated the Holiest day of the year with the best game of his career.
Saturday was the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, and the Wisconsin fullback's faith dictated that he fast from sundown Friday night until sundown Saturday. A 4:45 p.m. (Central time) kickoff made it a tough decision for Bernstein whether or not to play.
Fortunately for the Badgers, he decided to suit up. Primarily a blocker up to that point, Bernstein would have no clue just how large a role he would play in Wisconsin's 16-3 win over Penn State.
Already without starting tailback Anthony Davis, who was inactive with an eye injury, the Badgers were in panic mode when Booker Stanley aggravated his turf toe and true freshman Jamil Walker injured his shoulder in the first half.
With few other options, Bernstein became the Badgers' feature back to start the second half. And they ran him.
Twenty-seven times, to be exact, for 123 yards. He had 203 career rushing yards coming into the game. In Saturday's second half, Bernstein got the ball on nearly 75 percent of the Badgers' plays.
"I was very proud of the way Matt Bernstein played, as we were very limited at tailback," Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez said. "I thought he really brought a lot of personality and punch to the offense. With the type of game it was, we really rode him. I was pleased."
Throughout the second half, Bernstein also pleased a record Camp Randall Stadium crowd of 82,179.
A 270-pound slab of a back, Bernstein embarked on a drive eerily similar to the one Stanley pulled off when pressed into emergency duty last year against the Nittany Lions.
Bernstein for 12 yards. Bernstein for 6, 3, 5, 7 and 17 yards.
"We should have expected that to come," defensive end Tamba Hali said. "They're up 16-0 in the second half; they're going to run the ball, run the time down."
They were mostly grueling carries, but oh, that 17-yarder. It looked pretty bland on the stat sheet, but as everyone in attendance could attest, it was anything but.
As Bernstein chugged through a hole up the middle and reached the secondary, Penn State safety Andrew Guman dove at the big man's legs, hoping to fell him like a tree.
But that tall oak uprooted himself and sprung gazelle-like over top of Guman, landed in stride and ran for a few more yards, sending the Wisconsin crowd into a frenzy.
It was a surreal sight for the Badger faithful who, it's safe to say, were not accustomed to watching their fullback soar through the air like that.
Bernstein's entire performance was surreal, much to the chagrin of Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley.
"Bernstein was the tailback and [Greg Root] was the fullback, so you've got those two 270 pound guys playing back there," Bradley said. "They're not running backs, they're guards. I didn't see Bernstein warm up for pre-game warm-ups and I was actually excited he wasn't going to play."
The Lions defense had suffocated the Badgers run game in the first half, limiting Stanley and Walker to just 22 yards on 13 carries between them. Stanley never seemed comfortable and the Penn State front seven swarmed to the ball better than any game this season.
Members of the defense wouldn't say that it was all Bernstein that did them in, but that they couldn't come up with the big stop they needed to halt the Badgers' momentum.
"He's a big load," linebacker Tim Shaw said of Bernstein. "He's a tough guy. We just didn't stop him when we needed to and we let him run the ball down right into us for awhile. A few missed assignments and missed tackles and that's just a bad combination."
