The sixth-ranked Badgers have 11 interceptions over the last three games and 21 on the season, tops in major college football.

And now they are focused on Trace McSorley and No. 8 Penn State in the Big Ten title game on Saturday night.

”They’ve done a good job of playing the ball and … looking for it,” Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said about his defense. ”Not just knocking it down, but let’s get the pick.”

All those interceptions are, in part, a byproduct of the stout play of the front seven at Wisconsin (10-2, No. 6 CFP).

The defensive line has controlled the line of scrimmage, helping to free up a strong linebacker corps to make plays, whether in the backfield or in coverage. A secondary that had question marks at the beginning of the season has become a ball-hawking strength.

Safety Leo Musso, a former high school running back, has the speed to catch up to deep throws. He also has been displaying smarts in coverage, like when he stepped in front of a pass in the end zone last week against Minnesota after appearing to bait Mitch Leidner into making a seemingly safe throw.

”Our names are getting called but it’s really the front seven doing their job,” said Musso, who has four interceptions over the last three weeks. ”We have the easy job of just covering guys and catching the ball.”

But the quality of Wisconsin’s competition hits a higher level Saturday when compared to the past three weeks. The Badgers had four interceptions apiece against Illinois and Minnesota, sandwiched around a three-pick game at Purdue.

Penn State (10-2, No. 7 CFP) presents a big-play problem.

McSorley has thrown just five interceptions all season. The Nittany Lions have 106 plays this season of 20 yards or more, with 57 coming through the air.

”I think the explosive plays come from Trace’s mobility, when he is able to step up in the pocket and extend plays,” Penn State coach James Franklin said this week. ”If you can buy time and extend plays and force people to cover longer than is normal, it’s really challenging. So I think that’s where a lot of our big plays have come from.”

Blitzing could be costly for the Badgers. McSorley was 12 of 15 for 245 yards and threw three TDs against the blitz in last week’s 45-12 win over Michigan State .

Wisconsin has done a good job this year getting pressure with four rushers. Coordinator Justin Wilcox also has disguised rushes and blitzes, like he did last week against the Golden Gophers while rattling Leidner into a four-interception second half.

”Anytime you create some pressure on a quarterback, maybe the accuracy is off just a little bit, or the timing is off a little bit,” Chryst said. ”You’re thankful -those are big plays.”

Wisconsin has allowed just 40 plays of 20 or more yards, including 31 through the air and two touchdown passes. Cornerback Sojourn Shelton, a four-year starter, had two interceptions last week against Minnesota.

He is looking forward to what could be a track meet in the secondary with the Nittany Lions.

”It’s going to be fun to play against these guys. This secondary group, we’re all competitors. We all like to be put in challenging situations,” Shelton said. ”So far we’ve excelled.”

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AP freelance writers Dennis Semrau in Madison and Travis Johnson in State College, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.

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More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

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Same for No. 12 Penn State.

Following the lead of their resilient quarterback, the Nittany Lions rallied for their sixth straight win Saturday at Indiana and could climb in the polls again this weekend. McSorley helped direct Penn State to 24 fourth-quarter points in a 45-31 victory against the Hoosiers.

”We’ve been down by double digits multiple times late in games,” the sore McSorley said. ”But there’s never that kind of feeling that, `We can’t come back from this.”’

Penn State (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten, No. 10 CFP) made the previous two wins look easy, outscoring Purdue and Iowa by a combined 103-38.

This one was a physical struggle.

Nobody took more blows than McSorley. Playing behind a patchwork offensive line, the 6-foot, 205-pound McSorley stood tall in the pocket even when everything broke down.

With the exception of one brief exit in the first half to get his foot or ankle retaped, McSorley brushed off the pain and kept right on playing as Indiana charged ahead.

In perhaps the gutsiest performance of his career, McSorley finished 16 of 30 for 332 yards passing, three short of a career high. He also threw two TD passes and two interceptions, one of which sailed high as he tried to avoid an untouched blitzing defender.

His left elbow and forearm were wrapped in ice after the win, and he was dealing with a sore left ankle.

”When the game is on the line, he has no fear in his eyes,” running back Saquon Barkley said. ”He gets banged up, he gets hit, but he gets right back up. He knows the team needs him. He’s a big part of our team, so he just sucks it up and keeps grinding through it.”

McSorley also got some help from his teammates in the comeback against the Hoosiers.

Trailing 24-14 late in the third quarter, McSorley tossed a perfect 21-yard TD pass to Chris Godwin between an Indiana defender and the sideline.

On the next series, McSorley got the Hoosiers to bite on a flea-flicker and threw a high-arching 54-yard completion to DaeSean Hamilton. Two plays later, Barkley squirted through a hole and walked into the end zone for a 4-yard TD run that lifted Penn State to a 28-24 lead.

McSorley wasn’t finished.

Three series later, trailing 31-28 and with Penn State’s sudden resurgence in danger of being squashed, McSorley methodically marched his team down the field one more time to set up Barkley’s 2-yard TD run with 3:58 left.

The Nittany Lions’ defense took care of the rest, finally giving McSorley a well-deserved break and a reason to celebrate.

”He’s a tough sucker, he really is,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. ”He is tough, he is smart, he is resilient, he is a playmaker. The guys believe in him they really do.”

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