Tag: Wisconsin Badgers

Notes: Wisconsin Beats Instate Rival Marquette at Home 77-61

Game notes from Wisconsin’s victory over instate rival Marquette.

MADISON, Wis.– News and notes from UW Athletics after Wisconsin’s 77-61 victory over instate rival Marquette on Sunday.

TEAM NOTES

  • Wisconsin moved to 3-1 on the season, recording its 12th consecutive non-conference home win.
  • Head coach Greg Gard improved his overall record to 83-48 (.634), including a mark of 49-14 (.778) at the Kohl Center.
  • Wisconsin registered its 300th win in Kohl Center history. Since the building opened on Jan. 17, 1998, the Badgers are 300-51 (.855) all-time at the Kohl Center, the 9th-highest win percentage among NCAA Division I venues.
  • Wisconsin improved to 68-58 all-time against Marquette, including a mark of 39-18 in Madison. The Badgers are 2-2 vs. the Golden Eagles under head coach Greg Gard.
  • The Badgers’ 16-point margin of victory marked their largest win over Marquette since a 65-41 triumph on Dec. 23, 1998.
  • Wisconsin’s 77 points were their most scored against Marquette at the Kohl Center since a 77-63 victory on Dec. 10, 2005.
  • A total of 6 Badgers scored in double figures, marking the first game for Wisconsin with 6 double-digit scorers since a 93-84 win over Marquette on Dec. 10, 2016.
  • Wisconsin went 18-for-20 (.900) at the free throw line. That marked the first time the Badgers shot at least 90.0% from the charity stripe on 20 or more attempts since going 28-for-31 (.903) vs. Indiana on Feb. 3, 2015.
  • The Badgers shot 57.1% (8-for-14) from 3-point range in the second half en route to shooting a season-high 47.8% for the game.
  • Wisconsin outscored Marquette in the paint 24-10. On the season, the Badgers are outscoring opponents by an average of 9.0 points per game in the paint (28.0-19.0).
  • The Badgers held Marquette’s Markus Howard to 2 points on 0-for-9 shooting in the 2nd half. Howard, who finished with 18 points, had averaged 24.0 points in his previous 3 games vs. the Badgers.
  • Wisconsin surrendered only 5 offensive rebounds and 3 second-chance points to Marquette. The Badgers scored 14 secondchance points on their 9 offensive boards.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

  • Senior G Brevin Pritzl posted the first doubledouble of his career with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, including 6 offensive boards.
  • Pritzl went 3-for-4 from 3-point range and 4-for-4 at the free throw line.
  • Junior G Brad Davison scored 15 points and pulled down 3 rebounds.
  • Junior F Aleem Ford scored 12 points and matched his career highs with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.
  • Junior F Nate Reuvers scored in double figures for the 4th consecutive game, tallying 10 points.
  • Junior G D’Mitrik Trice scored 10 points and matched his career high with 3 steals.
  • Sophomore G Kobe King scored in double figures for the 2nd-consecutive game and the 7th time in his career.

Game Day Grades – Wisconsin vs. Marquette

What grades did Wisconsin receive following their game against instate rival Marquette?

Offense: A

One thing that had been missing from Wisconsin’s offense through the first three games was an offensive balance. The Badgers offensive production was generated through the post as it was needed, considering the struggles from 3-point range for Wisconsin.

Wisconsin was able to get on track from three in the second half against McNeese State when they shot 7-for-15 over the final 20 minutes. The Badgers were able to carry that performance over against Marquette as Wisconsin finished the game 11-for-24 (47.8 percent) from three.

Wisconsin had six different players knock down a three, as Brevin Pritzl led the way making three of his four attempts as his 15 points tied for the team lead in scoring with Brad Davison. D’Mitrik Trice and Nate Reuvers were the only other two players to make at least two of their 3-point tries as they shot a combined 4-for-9. Aleem Ford went 1-for-4, Davison went 1-for-3, and Kobe King went 1-for-2 from three.

The success Wisconsin had from 3-point range helped open up the paint for Wisconsin as the Badgers finished the game with 24 points down low as 18 of those points came in the first half.

Wisconsin was aggressive early and found ways to attack Marquette’s defense as the Badgers scored nine points off of fastbreak opportunities. Due to the aggressive play by Wisconsin’s offense, it also allowed for Wisconsin to get to the free throw line. For the third time over Wisconsin’s first four games, the Badgers got to the free throw line at least 20 times. Wisconsin was able to convert on their opportunities by going 18-for-20.

Overall, Wisconsin had six different players score in double figures. Outside of Pritzl and Davison each scoring 15 points, Ford finished the game with 12 points, while Trice, King, and Reuvers all finished with 10 points.

Wisconsin finished the game shooting 24-for-56 (42.9 percent) from the field.

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Why Wisconsin fans shouldn’t worry about the Nebraska performance

An explanation of why fans of the Wisconsin Badgers should put the performance against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in perspective.

Yes, the Wisconsin Badgers played below-average defense against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday. Yes, the Badgers’ defense is thin at safety, due to multiple injuries. Yes, backups are being thrown into the mix and can’t be expected to perform at the same standard established earlier in the season. Yes, other Big Ten teams seem to be improving while Wisconsin is treading water — surviving, but not really getting better.

Wisconsin’s best and most locked-in performances of 2019 came in the first half of the season. The second half — which included a week off, a time to hopefully sharpen some instincts and polish some imperfect habits — has not created a meaner defensive unit. Jack Coan is not making steady progress. He is also playing at the same B-minus/C-plus level he displayed against Illinois a few weeks ago. This team isn’t deteriorating, but neither is it peaking at the right time.

That last point is what I wish to explore: No, Wisconsin isn’t peaking… and that is part of why fans shouldn’t be too worried about what’s happening at the moment, two weeks before the huge Minnesota game which is likely to decide the Big Ten West. I will frame my argument around a larger reality which pervades the national scene in major college football.

Look at Georgia’s mid-October siesta, when the Bulldogs played two bad games in a row against South Carolina and Kentucky. Look at Ohio State basically taking the last three quarters off against Rutgers on Saturday. (Rutgers nearly played OSU even on the scoreboard for a few quarters, following OSU’s onslaught in the first 11 minutes.) Look at LSU giving up a ton of points to Ole Miss and a boatload of yards. Look at Clemson playing like a bored team in the first half of the year, especially versus North Carolina.

So many very good teams have played games or sequences of games (or both) in which they weren’t dialed in. Focus was lacking. Energy was inconsistent. This happens. This is NORMAL, not aberrational. Kids aren’t going to have the same razor-sharp focus every week.

Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney are better than most at getting relatively consistent performances from their teams each week, but they aren’t airtight gods. They still get at least one if not two games a year in which their players drift through a Saturday.

This, I submit, is what Wisconsin is going through now. Wisconsin was shaken by the Illinois loss and then kicked to the curb by Ohio State. This created an emotional tidal wave the Badgers are still absorbing. This team played with such confidence and decisiveness in the first half of the season that a two-game losing streak was a thunderclap of disruption. Wisconsin is still trying to find its bearings, and not being able to control its fate in the Big Ten West race might have played a small but real part in keeping this team depressed — maybe not to a huge extent, but small margins can matter when explaining why one-on-one tackles in open space are being missed instead of made.

Now that Wisconsin controls its fate in the Big Ten West once again, you might see this team perk up. You might see the vibrant, optimistic, relentless identity seen in September. It’s not a guarantee, but I think some Badgers are ready to come out of hibernation. Let’s see if this thesis is proven to be correct. If it IS correct, some Gophers are about to be pushed into a deep, dark hole on Nov. 30 in Minneapolis.

Wisconsin-Minnesota now means even more, thanks to Iowa

Reaction to Iowa beating Minnesota, which makes the Nov. 30 game between the Golden Gophers and the Wisconsin Badgers even bigger.

Thank you, Iowa. That is what the Wisconsin Badgers and their fans are saying after the Hawkeyes ended Minnesota’s dreams of producing an unbeaten season. The 23-19 Iowa triumph in Kinnick Stadium served a very important purpose for Wisconsin: It gave Minnesota one Big Ten loss. Wisconsin, with two Big Ten losses, has been brought back into the Big Ten West title hunt. Wins over Purdue and then Minnesota will give the Badgers another ticket to Indianapolis and a chance to get a (possible, not guaranteed) rematch against Ohio State.

You know Wisconsin wants that rematch. You know Wisconsin wanted the Minnesota game to be a division championship battle. You know Wisconsin needed Minnesota to lose once before Nov. 30 in order for the Badgers to have a realistic chance at going to the Rose Bowl. (Penn State will have a say in this conversation, but that is a separate matter.)

As big as the battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe always is, and as fierce as the rivalry between Wisconsin and Minnesota — not just the football programs, but the two states — has often been, the Badgers-Gophers clash just got a lot bigger. Thank you, Iowa.

Given how rare Wisconsin and Minnesota have been very good teams at the same time, it is worth cherishing this upcoming battle. The 2016 game was the biggest UW-U of M game in recent memory. Minnesota won nine games that season, including its bowl game. Wisconsin won 11 games.

Before 2016, you would have to go all the way back to 1962 to find a time when both programs were prominent and prosperous. Wisconsin beat Minnesota, 14-9, in the 1962 game between the two schools. The great Badger team quarterbacked by Ron Vander Kelen, which also contained future UW athletic director Pat Richter, went to the 1963 Rose Bowl and played USC in a classic game. Richter, of course, hired Barry Alvarez as head football coach, the most important moment in Wisconsin football history. Wisconsin’s prominence today is rooted in that one decision, which changed everything for football in Madison.

Thank you, Iowa. Wisconsin-Minnesota could be for a ticket to Pasadena. It WILL be for a ticket to Indianapolis, barring a highly improbable UW stumble against Purdue. It is always for the Axe, but this year, it will be for a lot more than that.

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.