MADISON, Wis. — Camp Randall Stadium welcomed fans back in all of the storied arena's full glory, but a jubilant crowd couldn't help No. 12 Wisconsin fend off No. 19 Penn State in a 16-10 season-opening loss.

After a strong, but scoreless first-half, Wisconsin's offense struggled in the red zone. The Badgers (0-1) and Nittany Lions each scored touchdowns in the third quarter, before senior kicker Collin Larsh connected on a 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to give UW a brief 10-7 lead.

The Badgers dominated time of possession by a margin of 42:24 to 17:35, thanks to UW's stalwart defense, but would count four scoreless trips inside Penn State's 25-yard line, including three inside the 10.

Wisconsin out-gained Penn State in total yardage by a mark of 365 to 297, including a dominant 180 to 50 margin in the run game. That resulted in Wisconsin having 30 first downs to Penn State's 11.

Junior running back Chez Mellusi, a tranfer from Clemson, led the Badgers with 121 yards on 31 carries rushing in his Badgers debut and a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Mellusi had just 27 carries all season last year while playing for Clemson.

UW's Isaac Guerendo also had 56 yards on 13 carries, setting career bests in both categories, while senior tight end Jake Ferguson caught a career-high nine passes for 52 yards, giving him 108 receptions for his career.

Quarterback Graham Mertz finished with 22 of 37 for 185 yards and two interceptions.

The Badgers held the Nittany Lions to one first down and just 43 yards gained in the first half. Wisconsin senior inside linebacker Jack Sanborn sacked Penn State's quarterback Sean Clifford on the Nittany Lions' first possession and sophomore outside lineback Nick Herbig added a sack of Clifford in the 3rd quarter. Senior safety Scott Nelson led UW with six tackles.

In the fourth quarter, Penn State's Noah Cain broke a 10-all tie and put PSU (1-0) ahead for good with a 2-yard touchdown run with 9:17 remaining, though Jonathan Stout's extra-point attempt bounced off the left upright. Stout also missed a 23-yard field goal.

Jahan Dotson had a 49-yard touchdown catch for Penn State and also set up Cain's score with a 42-yard reception. He finished with five catches for 102 yards. Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford was 18 of 33 for 247 yards.

The game's closing minutes saw a flurry of action. Penn State's Jaquan Brister and Ji'Ayir Brown intercepted Mertz deep in Penn State territory in the final 2 1/2 minutes to preserve the Nittany Lions' win.

The Badgers had first-and-goal at the 1 in the closing minutes on a drive that included a targeting penalty on Ellis Brooks that removed Penn State's leading tackler from the game.

Mertz lost the ball on an apparent handoff attempt on first down, though Wisconsin's Isaac Guerendo recovered the fumble at the 4. Guerendo lost a yard on second down, then Joey Porter Jr. broke up a pass to Jack Dunn.

On fourth down, Mertz attempted a pass across the middle to tight end Jake Ferguson, but Brisker picked it off and delivered a 41-yard return with 2:16 remaining.

Wisconsin got the ball back on its own 18 with 1:11 left and got all the way to the Penn State 25 with 26 seconds remaining, thanks in part to a personal foul on Arnold Ebiketie. But after an intentional grounding call pushed Wisconsin back to the 32, Brown intercepted a Mertz pass on the game's final play.
 

The Associated Press contributed to this article.