When P.J. Hill gets the ball, he's not looking around, bouncing past defenders or cutting to the outside.
Wisconsin's sophomore running back sees daylight among a cluster of linemen and gets there in a hurry. Hill's sheer size is what propels the 5-foot-7, 227-pounder forward.
On Saturday, he just didn't get far enough. Penn State's defense kept Hill to 75 yards on the ground -- his lowest total of the season.
Hill came out firing against Penn State, punching through the Lions defense for 41 yards in the first quarter. But as the Badgers fell behind 24-7 at halftime, they were forced to pass the ball downfield, making their powerful sophomore running back obsolete.
"It's unfortunate he wasn't able to have more success," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. "But, in the flow of the game, we started going to the air because of what we had to do."
Penn State strives to have what linebacker Dan Connor calls a "bend, but don't break defense."
Maybe they'll bend -- giving up a few yards on the ground here and there, but they try not to break by giving up a huge running play.
Using his size and power, Hill made the Lions defense bend a little, Connor said, but he couldn't make them break. Hill's longest run of the afternoon was 14 yards.
"We were able to get him down," Connor said. "It makes them line up and then run another play, which is another chance to get another turnover and get a big stop."
Hill finished the game with 3.9 yards per carry and put up Wisconsin's only points of the day -- a touchdown in the first quarter. Bielema said the running back was "banged up," and Hill made his last carry of the day late in the third quarter.
In the game's closing minutes, Hill remained seated on Wisconsin's bench, his helmet on the ground between his feet, and a white towel draped over his legs.
He spoke with one of Wisconsin's coaches while wearing a grim expression.
Every so often, Hill would look up to the video board above Beaver Stadium's north end zone and shake his head.
It was a far cry from his performance last year against Penn State. Then only a redshirt freshman, Hill ran for 148 yards on 31 carries in a Wisconsin victory.
Even though it has been almost a year since that day, Penn State's defense hasn't forgotten it.
"They felt like, last year, Wisconsin kicked the crap out of them, physically," Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said. "We had talked about it all week -- about being physical and stepping up to the challenge."
This year, Penn State's defense went into the game knowing Hill wasn't completely healthy, defensive lineman Jared Odrick said. All they had to do, he added, was attack.
"We can be good against any running back," Odrick said, "as long as we're here to play."
