Notes: Wisconsin Beats Nebraska on the Road 37-21

Game notes following Wisconsin’s 37-21 win over Nebraska.

LINCOLN, Neb. – News and notes from UW Athletics after No. 15 Wisconsin’s 37-21 victory over Nebraska at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

TEAM NOTES

  • Today’s captains: senior OLB Zack Baun, junior C Tyler Biadasz, senior ILB Chris Orr, junior RB Jonathan Taylor.
  • Paul Chryst improved to 50-14 (.781) in his fifth season as Wisconsin’s head coach, becoming the 5th coach in program history to win 50 games at UW.
  • Under Chryst, Wisconsin is:
    1. 32-10 (.762) in Big Ten Conference play
    2. 23-5 (.821) vs. the Big Ten West Division
    3. 14-3 (.824) in November games
    4. 18-6 (.750) in road games
    5. 5-0 vs. Nebraska, including a 3-0 mark in Lincoln
  • Wisconsin is 50-14 (.781) since the start of the 2015 season. Entering today, only Clemson (65-4, .942), Alabama (63-5, .926), Ohio State (57-6, .905), Oklahoma (54-9, .857) and Georgia (50-14, .781) own higher winning percentages during that 5-year span.
  • UW is 39-11 (.780) in conference play since 2014, when the Big Ten went to its current divisional alignment. Only Ohio State (45-4, .918) has a better league record over that span.
  • The Badgers have won 25 of their last 31 Big Ten games, dating to the 2016 season.
  • The Badgers have won 21 of their last 23 games with a rivalry trophy on the line (vs. Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska) since 2010.
  • Wisconsin racked up 482 total yards, its secondhighest total in Big Ten play this season, trailing on the 487 yards the Badgers piled up against Michigan.
  • UW ran for 320 yards, marking the 4th time the Badgers have eclipsed the 300-yard threshold this season.
  • The Badgers owned a 9:00 edge in time of possession (34:40 to 25:20). UW entered the game leading the nation in time of possession, holding the ball for an average of 36:51.
  • Wisconsin finished with 4.0 sacks on the day, without surrendering any. This marks the 6th time this season that the Badgers have posted at least 4.0 sacks in a game.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

  • Junior RB Jonathan Taylor ran the ball 25 times for 204 yards with 2 TDs. He also added 2 catches for 11 yards.
  • Taylor now has 5,634 yards for his career, passing two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin for 2nd place on the Big Ten’s all-time rushing list.
  • Taylor’s 5,634 yards are the most ever by an FBS player through his junior season.
  • Taylor recorded the 30th 100-yard rushing game of his career. Only Ron Dayne (33) has recorded more as a Badger.
  • Taylor rushed for at least 200 yards for the 11th time in his career, matching USC’s Marcus Allen for the 3rd-most 200-yard games in FBS history. Only Ron Dayne (14, 1996-99) and Texas’ Ricky Williams (12, 1995-98) have recorded more.
  • Taylor is the first Badger to rush for 200 yards against a single opponent 3 times. He also had 249 yards vs. Nebraska in 2017 and 221 yards vs. the Huskers in 2018, giving him 674 career rushing yards (224.7 yards per game) and 7 career touchdowns vs. the Huskers.
  • Now with 21 touchdowns, Taylor is the 5th player in school history to score at least 20 touchdowns in a season, joining Montee Ball (2011, 12), Melvin Gordon (2014), Brian Calhoun (2005) and Ron Dayne (1996, 99).
  • Taylor now has 46 career rushing touchdowns, moving past James White (45) and Melvin Gordon (45) for third on UW’s career list.
  • Junior QB Jack Coan went 13-for-21 for 162 yards with 1 TD and 0 INTs for a 142.4 QB rating.
  • Coan connected with A.J. Taylor on a career-long 55-yard pass that went for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter.
  • That passed served as the longest completion of Coan’s career and the longest TD pass at Wisconsin since Joel Stave and Jared Abbrederis connected on a 63-yard touchdown pass against Northwestern (Oct. 12, 2013).
  • Sophomore WR Aron Cruickshank scored an 89-yard kickoff return touchdown in the 1st quarter, the first return TD of his career, and the first for the Badgers since Natrell Jamerson’s 98-yard kick return TD at Maryland on Nov. 7, 2015.
  • Senior WR A.J. Taylor hauled in 2 catches for 65 yards and scored the 10th receiving touchdown of his career on a career-long 55-yard reception in the 2nd quarter.
  • Junior WR Danny Davis carried the ball 3 times for 48 yards, both of which represent career highs.
  • Redshirt freshman S Reggie Pearson tallied a career-high 10 tackles, surpassing his previous high of 5 tackles.
  • Senior ILB Chris Orr recorded his 10th sack of the year on Nebraska’s first offensive series, moving him into a tie for 8th on UW’s single-season list.
  • Senior OLB Zack Baun recorded 2.0 sacks — his 2nd multi-sack game of the season and the 3rd of his career — and has 9.5 on the season.
  • Senior OLB Tyler Johnson posted his first sack of the season and the second of his career. He also tallied 3 tackles, the second-highest mark of his career.
  • Junior S Eric Burrell finished with 6 tackles and forced his second fumble of the season and the fourth of his career.
  • Sophomore ILB Jack Sanborn snared his second INT of the season, intercepting Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez in the second quarter.
  • Sophomore K Collin Larsh was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals, matching his career high. He also connected on 3 FGs at Illinois earlier this season.

 

Grading Wisconsin’s Victory over Nebraska

What grades did Wisconsin earn in their 37-21 victory over Nebraska to retain the Freedom Trophy?

Grading No. 15 Wisconsin’s 37-21 win over Nebraska.

Offense: B

For the third time in his career Jonathan Taylor went over 200 yards rushing against Nebraska as he finished with 204 yards on 25 carries and two rushing touchdowns.

Taylor’s rushing performance against Nebraska puts him past Herschel Walker (5,596 yards) for most rushing yards in a career through his junior year as Taylor now has 5,634 rushing yards in his career.

Taylor’s longest rush of the day against Nebraska was 19 yards and like last week he wasn’t tackled behind the line of scrimmage as he averaged an impressive 8.2 yards per carry.

In total Wisconsin rushed for 320 yards on 45 carries. Despite Danny Davis (3-48) not catching a pass against Nebraska he and Nakia Watson (8-36) combined to rush for 84 yards on 11 carries.

Outside of Wisconsin’s offensive line continuing to get the better push to allow for Wisconsin to consistently pick up positive yards rushing the football as the Badgers only allowed one tackle for loss. In addition, the Badgers made sure Jack Coan stayed clean as he wasn’t sacked for the first time this year.

Coan didn’t turn the football over as it snapped a three game streak of him turning the football over at least once but there were instances where he didn’t always place the football where his intended target could make the catch.

The first example would be on Wisconsin’s opening offensive drive. Coan was able to complete a screen pass to Taylor but he had to reach back and catch it with one hand. Taylor started to cut upfield but never completely secured the football as JoJo Domann was able to force the fumble. Taylor should have done more to protect the football but if Coan is able to place the football more squarely in his chest the Badgers avoid there only turnover of the game. Nebraska was able to cash Taylor’s fumble into seven points.

The second example was on Wisconsin’s last offensive possession of the first half. On 3rd and goal at Nebraska’s six Coan attempted a pass to A.J. Taylor but the throw was behind him making it a difficult catch.

Overall Coan finished the game 13-for-21 (61.9 percent) for 162 yards and a touchdown. Coan’s touchdown throw was to A.J. Taylor for 55 yards, eclipsing the previous season long pass of 52 yards, which occurred last week against Iowa from Coan to Quintez Cephus. Coan was able to complete passes to seven different players while A.J. Taylor’s 65 yards led the team Kendric Pryor (30 yards) and Quintez Cephus (23 yards) each caught three passes.