Tag: wisconsin badgers football

Wisconsin Purdue Kickoff Time Announced

Wisconsin’s senior day matchup against Purdue game time was announced.

Wisconsin’s (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) kickoff time against Purdue (4-6, 3-4) for Saturday has been announced. The Badgers and Boilermakers will officially kickoff at 3 p.m. as the game can be seen on Fox.

The game against Purdue will serve as Wisconsin’s senior day as the Badgers will honor 13 players prior to the game.

Purdue is coming off of a bye week while the Badgers were able to retain the Freedom Trophy thanks to Wisconsin’s 37-21 victory over Nebraska as the Badgers have won their past two games.

With Iowa beating Minnesota this past Saturday the Badgers are still in contention of getting back to Indianapolis. A win over Purdue on Saturday and against the Gophers on November 30th would send Wisconsin to the Big Ten championship game.

The Boilermakers are playing for just as much as Purdue needs to win their last two games in order to make a bowl game for a third straight year.

However, Wisconsin has beaten Purdue 13 straight times including the last six times in Madison.

The Badgers were able to beat Purdue last season 47-44 in triple overtime as Taylor rushed for a career high 321 yards and three touchdowns as his third touchdown was the game winner.

Twitter reactions: Wisconsin takes down Nebraska 37-21

Here are some of the most notable Twitter reactions from the Wisconsin Badgers’ 37-21 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Madison.

It wasn’t easy by any stretch, but No. 14 Wisconsin ultimately took care of business and earned its seventh straight victory over Nebraska, taking down the Cornhuskers 37-21 yesterday afternoon in Lincoln. As a result, the 8-2 Badgers remain in the hunt for a Big Ten West title with two games left to go.

The events that took place at Memorial Stadium yesterday elicited a flood of reactions and takes throughout the Twitterverse, both during the game and after. Here are some of the most notable:

With its confidence back after last week’s thrilling victory over Iowa in Madison, Wisconsin appeared to be in high spirits in pre-game warmups.

However, that mood didn’t last long.

After marching down the field with ease into Nebraska territory on their first drive of the game, Jack Coan threw an errant pass to Jonathan Taylor out of the backfield. The All-American running back managed to haul it in with a sensational one-handed grab, but just couldn’t hang on and got the ball knocked out. Nebraska recovered and quickly seized the game’s momentum, going up 7-0 on Wisconsin after running back Dedrick Mills’ 12-yard touchdown run.

Unfortunately for the Cornhuskers, Wisconsin kick returner Aron Cruickshank immediately took the wind out of their sails on the ensuing kickoff, taking the kick all the way back for an electrifying 89-yard touchdown and tying up the game once more. It was the speedy sophomore’s first return touchdown of his career, and likely will not be the last.

While Wisconsin would end up claiming victory, many Badger fans are understandably concerned about the performance of this defense moving forward. It gave up a total of 493 yards against the Cornhuskers, the most the Badgers have allowed since the 511 it gave up in last season’s matchup with Nebraska at Camp Randall. Most concerning were the 273 yards it gave up on the ground, including a whopping 188 on just 17 carries from Mills.

A key factor in the defense’s woes yesterday? Missed tackles. A lot of them.

Overall, the unit’s performance was reminiscent of its awful outings against Illinois and Ohio State, a major red flag with the regular-season finale against Minnesota that will likely decide the Big Ten West looming

The next major galvanizing moment from the Badgers following Cruickshank’s touchdown return came about midway through the second quarter. Down 14-10 after a 5-play, 73-yard touchdown drive from the Cornhuskers, Coan hit A.J. Taylor over the middle on an easy pass. The senior wide receiver proceeded to break multiple tackles and scamper all the way into the end zone. At 55 yards, it was the longest pass play for Wisconsin on the year, and it gave the Badgers the lead for good in this one.

Taylor’s reception was part of a broader effort from Paul Chryst and offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph to get their weapons at wide receiver more involved in the offense this week, both to discourage Nebraska from loading the box against Jonathan Taylor and simply because they are talented playmakers.

Speaking of JT, he made history against the Cornhuskers by breaking the legendary Herschel Walker’s record for rushing yards in the first three years of a career on a run early in the fourth quarter.

Another week, another massive goal-line stop from this Wisconsin defense. Last week, it was Chris Orr stuffing Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley on a two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter to keep the Hawkeyes down 24-22.

This week, it was Reggie Pearson’s turn. The redshirt freshman safety essentially sealed the victory for Wisconsin by making an incredible tackle on Nebraska running back Wyatt Mazour on the one-yard line on a 4th-and-goal attempt.

That was an enormous play by Pearson, who had a fantastic day overall by leading the Badgers with ten tackles. However, as usual, the day belonged to Jonathan Taylor, who racked up over 200 yards against this Nebraska program for the third straight season. He finished with 204 and two touchdowns on 25 carries, bringing his career totals against the Cornhuskers to 644 yards and seven scores.

Nebraska deserves credit for giving the Badgers quite the scare, but Wisconsin managed to close out the Cornhuskers and maintain possession of the Freedom Trophy for the seventh straight time in this rivalry.

We’ll close with this gem from Oakland Raiders linebacker Will Compton, who played at Nebraska from 2009-12 and has some thoughts on Wisconsin’s dominance of this rivalry over the years that Badger fans should enjoy.

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.

 

Wisconsin-Nebraska highlights the need for better tackling in space

Reviewing one aspect of the Wisconsin Badgers’ 37-21 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

It is true that the Wisconsin Badgers continue to be dogged by injuries. It is true that injuries matter, and that one shouldn’t expect the same high level of performance from backup players. Against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, against Iowa, against Ohio State, this idea remains relevant and necessary.

One can question the performance of specific backups if they have gained a lot of snaps in the past, and have been demoted due to poor play. One can raise questions about the trajectory or development of specific players. Yet, for the most part, backups are backups for a reason, and starters are starters for a reason.

One thing starter-level players do better than backups is play sound assignment football. They aren’t out of position as often. They don’t get confused as often. They know where they are supposed to be. This point leads into an analysis of Wisconsin’s defense on Saturday against Nebraska.

One can note the injuries to UW’s defense and yet point out that a lot of the failures on this side of the ball are not flowing from defenders being out of position. Inexperience — due to Eric Burrell and Reggie Pearson getting hurt on Saturday — certainly played a part in shaping this defensive performance. Those injuries are relevant in assessing the Badgers. However, they can’t be allowed to tell the whole story of this game against the Huskers.

Many times on Saturday, Wisconsin defenders weren’t out of position. They weren’t caught off guard. They weren’t failing to diagnose a given play or action. They simply didn’t make the tackle.

How many times on Saturday in Lincoln was a Wisconsin defender one-on-one with a Nebraska ballcarrier in open space, and unable to make a sure tackle? How many times did the Badgers have a chance to get off the field in third down, only to fail to make a play Jim Leonhard and Paul Chryst would expect them to deliver? How many times were linebackers or safeties wondering how a Nebraska rusher slipped away?

One can chalk up some of these missed tackles to inexperience, but a lot of them were much less about football IQ and more about not trusting one’s athleticism and instincts. Wisconsin can’t remain on its heels to this extent when it plays defense. What’s worse is that the Badgers’ poor fourth quarter against Iowa ought to have led to a lucid, energized display in the first 30 minutes against Nebraska. Yet, that first half was as poor a half as Wisconsin’s defense had played all season.

Has the depth chart on this team gotten a workout this season? Yes. Has there been a lot of injury-based attrition this season? Yes. However, Wisconsin defenders were in position to make plays against Nebraska, and they simply failed. Wisconsin got away with it this time. It won’t get away with it against a good opponent. The task is clear for the remainder of this season, especially against Minnesota in a few weeks.

Who earned game balls from Wisconsin’s 37-21 victory against Nebraska?

Handing out game balls from Wisconsin’s 37-21 victory over Nebraska. Jonathan Taylor RB, Reggie Pearson S, Zack Baun OLB

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LINCOLN, Neb. – There were many contributors to Wisconsin’s 37-21 win over Nebraska on Saturday, but these were the three key players to the Badgers’ victory over the Cornhuskers.

Jonathan Taylor

Taylor’s success against Nebraska continued on Saturday as for the third time in his career he rushed for over 200 yards as he finished the game with 204 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. In his career, Taylor rushed for 674 yards on 74 carries and seven touchdowns. Taylor didn’t bust a long rush against Nebraska as his longest gain was 19 yards but he still averaged an impressive 8.2 yards per carry. Taylor’s first touchdown of the day in the second quarter put Wisconsin up 24-14 allowing the Badgers to play with a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

Reggie Pearson

Pearson had to exit the game briefly with a right arm injury but he was able to return to the game. With Nebraska threatening to cut Wisconsin’s lead to 37-27 in the fourth quarter Pearson was able to make the critical defensive play of the game when he stopped Wyatt Mazour at Wisconsin’s 1-yard line on a fourth and goal play. Pearson finished the game with a team leading 10 tackles.

Zack Baun

Adrian Martinez was able to get out of the pocket and pick up positive yards at times with his feet as he finished the game with 89 yards rushing on 16 carries and one touchdown. But Baun did register two sacks his second multi-sack game this season and third in his career. Baun’s second sack of the day was big as it resulted in a 20-yard loss. Martinez on Nebraska’s opening offensive possession in the second half was able to get the Cornhuskers to Wisconsin’s 24-yard line. On first and 10 with Martinez dropping back to pass Baun’s sack set up 2nd and 30 at Wisconsin’s 44-yard line. Although Martinez was able to get the 20-yards back on Nebraska’s next two plays it forced the Cornhuskers to settle for a field goal from 41-yards, which they missed. That missed field goal by Nebraska allowed for Wisconsin to go on a 9-play, 76-yard touchdown drive as Taylor capped it off with an 11-yard touchdown run.

Top three takeaways from Wisconsin’s 37-21 victory over Nebraska

The No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers took down the Nebraska Cornhuskers 37-21 in Lincoln. Here are three takeaways from the game.

It wasn’t pretty, but No. 14 Wisconsin found a way to close against a pesky Nebraska team and will head back to Madison with the Freedom Trophy in hand on the heels of a 37-21 victory. As a result, the 8-2 Badgers remain in the hunt for a Big Ten West title with two games left to go.

Here are our top three takeaways from the win.

1. This Wisconsin defense has some soul searching to do. 

There’s no sugarcoating it; this was an absolutely atrocious performance from the Badgers defensively. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s unit just didn’t have much of an answer to Nebraska’s dynamic spread offense all game long.

Wisconsin surrendered a total of 493 yards, the most the Badgers have allowed since the 511 it gave up in last season’s matchup between these programs at Camp Randall, including 220 through the air from quarterback Adrian Martinez and 273 on the ground.  The Cornhuskers averaged 7.4 yards per carry collectively, an effort spearheaded by a breakout outing from running back Dedrick Mills, who gashed Wisconsin for 188 yards and a touchdown while picking up an average of 11.1 yards each time he touched the ball.

While the coaches were largely ineffective in making adjustments throughout the game as the Cornhuskers picked up big play after big play, the Badgers simply could not tackle to save their lives. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many missed tackles by a Wisconsin defense, and those mishaps resulted in far too many chunk plays that moved Nebraska rapidly down the field. To put this into perspective, not one of the Cornhuskers’ three touchdown drives took longer than 1:49.

While the Badgers do deserve some credit for making some critical fourth-down stops throughout the game, overall, this was an embarrassing effort that resembled the defensive debacles against Illinois and Ohio State. Wisconsin has some major adjustments to make before taking on an explosive Minnesota offense for a potential shot at a Big Ten West title in a few weeks.

2. Wisconsin’s special teams got the job done today.

The play of special teams can often go underappreciated, but today, there’s no question that they played a critical role in Wisconsin’s victory.

That conversation begins with Aron Cruickshank, whose electrifying kickoff return touchdown in the first quarter gave the Badgers a much-needed boost in momentum following a Nebraska score.

Mills had just scampered into the end zone from 12 yards out to give his team a 7-0 lead after the Cornhuskers recovered a Jonathan Taylor fumble in Wisconsin territory. It was a devastating turn of events, as the Badgers had been running the ball down Nebraska defense’s throat on their first drive and were threatening to score before the turnover. The momentum dramatically shifted to the home team.

It didn’t last for long, as Cruickshank proceeded to completely take the wind out of the Cornhuskers’ sails on the very next play.

The sophomore’s 89-yard house call was the first return touchdown of his young career, and it came in a huge moment for his team. Cruickshank has always had blazing speed,  and it was only a matter of time before he found the end zone in the return game.

Credit is also due to placekicker Collin Larsh, who accounted for 13 of Wisconsin’s 37 points while going 3/3 and 4/4 on field goal and extra-point attempts, respectively.

3. Jonathan Taylor owns Nebraska.

Though they weren’t able to get the win today, it’s safe to say the Cornhuskers and their fans have got to be ecstatic that they will never again have to worry about facing Jonathan Taylor, assuming he takes his talents to the NFL after this season as we all suspect.

For the third straight season, Nebraska had no answer for All-American back. Taylor carried this Wisconsin offense on his back today, turning his 25 carries into 204 yards and two touchdowns and breaking the legendary Herschel Walker’s record for rushing yards in the first three years of a career in the process. Assuming there is no fourth year, Taylor will conclude his storied college career with 644 yards and seven touchdowns in just three meetings with the Cornhuskers.

Taylor was in the midst of a bit of a cold spell that coincided with Wisconsin’s two losses to Illinois and Ohio State, but he’s gotten back to his usual dominance in these last two games. The Badgers desperately need him to keep the momentum going down the home stretch.

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.

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Wisconsin’s play vs. Nebraska won’t cut it against Minnesota

An initial reaction to the Wisconsin Badgers’ victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday. They won by 16 points. They won without too much drama. Yet, given how flawed the Huskers are, a strong Wisconsin team would have blown the doors off this game. As it was, Nebraska was still in the hunt midway through the fourth quarter. Wisconsin needed a red-zone stop to finally feel good about this game. Until then, the Badgers had to legitimately doubt whether they could put away Nebraska.

That is a problem. Victory should not — and cannot — obscure that reality. Wisconsin handled a bad team well enough to win, but not nearly well enough to inspire confidence about the Nov. 30 matchup against Minnesota on the road. We will continue to unpack various nuances of that game — it’s not as though next week’s Purdue game will offer a hugely revealing insight into the Minnesota contest — but for now, we can simply assert this basic point: Wisconsin’s level of play was nowhere near what Paul Chryst needs it to be against Minnesota.

If the Badgers play like this against the Golden Gophers, they might not merely lose. They might get run out of the building and feel very dissatisfied about the nature of their season. Sure, Minnesota is impressive (we’ll see if the Gophers beat Iowa; this article was written before the start of that game in Iowa City). If the Gophers happen to beat the Badgers by playing a phenomenal game, so be it. Wisconsin can’t control how well Minnesota plays. Wisconsin can control how the Badgers play, and right now, the Badgers aren’t playing particularly well, especially on defense.

Yes, the offense still needs work. Jonathan Taylor can’t keep fumbling (his fumble at Illinois was very costly). Jack Coan has to be more accurate. The offense isn’t a finished product. Yet, the offensive line is knocking the snot out of opposing defensive fronts. Wisconsin can beat Minnesota based on the way the O-line is performing.

On defense, however? Good luck standing up to Minnesota’s speed at wide receiver or the Gophers’ pace, or P.J. Fleck’s scheme. If Nebraska could bust open big holes; if the Huskers could gain first downs with the run on third and seven; if Scott Frost could make Jim Leonhard’s defense look bad for most of the first three quarters; if a 34-14 lead wasn’t entirely safe (and it wasn’t, not with Nebraska being 15 yards from making the score 34-28); and if the back seven was slow to defend a number of downfield pass plays yet again, how will Wisconsin contain Minnesota’s offense?

That question — as we come closer to Nov. 30 — has to dominate coaches’ meetings. It has to be a central talking point on the practice field. It has to be the topic Wisconsin’s defensive players think about. What happened against Nebraska wasn’t acceptable. Victory can’t allow the Badgers’ defense to ignore that point.

Wisconsin at Nebraska: Breakdown with Prediction

What does Wisconsin need to do in order to beat Nebraska on the road? Jonathan Taylor RB, Jack Coan QB, Zack Baun LB, Noah Burks LB

Wisconsin has always been able to successfully run the football against Nebraska and on Saturday that shouldn’t change. Considering Nebraska’s rush defense in the Big Ten ranks toward the bottom as they’re allowing 219.5 yards over Big Ten play and have allowed an average of 5.3 yards per carry.

The Badgers will rely heavily on Jonathan Taylor to have success against the Cornhuskers rush defense. In two career games against Nebraska Taylor has averaged 235 yards on an average of 24.5 carries and has five combined touchdowns.

Wisconsin’s offensive line should be able to get the better push against Nebraska’s defensive line to make sure Taylor doesn’t get tackled behind the line of scrimmage.

Taylor has caught a pass in every game this year but has only caught three passes over the last three games. With the success Taylor has had against Nebraska he should be more involved in the passing game than he has over the last three weeks.

Jack Coan is going to need to limit his mistakes and make sure he doesn’t kill any offensive drives. If Coan can generate a rhythm against Nebraska’s secondary, which is allowing 201.5 passing yards in addition to Taylor’s success on the ground the Badgers should develop a balance on offense.

Defensively, it comes down to Wisconsin’s defense ability to contain Adrian Martinez.

Wisconsin will need to keep him in the pocket in order to make sure he can’t extend plays with his feet. It starts with Zack Baun and Noah Burks keeping contain and taking him down when they have a chance as Martinez’s 399 rushing yards leads the team.

One of Martinez’s favorite targets is JD Spielman as his 689 receiving yards leads the team. True freshman wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson is questionable for the game. If Robinson can’t go it will take away one of the Cornhuskers more consistent players on offense as he has 453 receiving yards and has rushed for 326 yards.

In the end, Wisconsin is able to contain Martinez enough and is able to limit his impact and prevent him from consistently connecting with Spielman through the air. In addition, thanks to Taylor’s ability to effectively rush the football the Badgers win 31-to-21.

 

Happy Anniversary, Melvin Gordon!

A brief recap of Melvin Gordon’s record-breaking 408-yard performance against the Nebraska Cornhuskers

On this day exactly five years ago, Wisconsin’s star running back Melvin Gordon ran for what was at the time, the single greatest total in the history of NCAA football: 408 yards, in just three quarters, against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Camp Randall.

It was a truly legendary performance, and although MGIII’s record only lasted a week, it was a game that Badger fans will never forget, and one that I had the fortune of attending in person, in the front row of the student section.

As one of the most highly anticipated games of the year for the 7-2 Badgers coming into that Saturday, Wisconsin was set to host the 8-1 Cornhuskers, on a beautiful, snowy, classic Saturday in Madison.

It was a nightmarish start for the Badgers, falling behind 17-3 against the fast, offensive-minded Huskers early into the second quarter.

But with a 62-yard touchdown run from Gordon to bring the Badgers within a score, things all started to change, as the snowflakes began falling from the sky, and Wisconsin took their spot in the driver’s seat.

The Badgers would go on to score an unprecedented 56 points in a row until Nebraska scored again in garbage time.

This was the night Melvin Gordon became the best player in college football, and to me, the most dominant running back that I have ever seen in person.

Along with the 62-yard touchdown run, Gordon also had a 68-yard run, and finished with four touchdowns and the ridiculous 408 yards, on just 25 carries!

MGIII averaged an absurd 16.3 yards on that snowy day in Madison, and somehow did it in just three quarters, to lead Wisconsin to its biggest win of the year, and to make his mark in the record books.

I was in person for Bronson Koenig’s game-winner to send Wisconsin to the Sweet Sixteen. I’ve seen triple-doubles from LeBron James and game-winners from Giannis Antetokounmpo, but this remains the single greatest sporting achievement that I have had the pleasure of seeing live.

So, thank you, Melvin Gordon, and Happy Anniversary to an all-time performance and a legendary Badger.