Death. Taxes. Wisconsin beating Nebraska. No. 9 Wisconsin went into Lincoln and took control of the Big Ten West with a 38-17 win over the Cornhuskers. The loss snapped Nebraska’s 20-game winning streak in home night games. The win also put Wisconsin alone at the top of the Big Ten West standings and now essentially have a two game edge over Nebraska in the standings. They also have a chance to run away and hide with the division with a win next week over Purdue and a Nebraska loss to Ohio State. The Badgers also improved to 6-1 against the Cornhuskers since Nebraska joined the Big Ten and are now 2-1 in Lincoln. After winning nail biters the last two years, the Badgers were able to seal the game a bit sooner this time around. Wisconsin once again dominated the second half, as Jim Leonhard’s bunch once again did not allow a point in the second half. True freshman running back Jonathan Taylor went bananas....B-A-N-A-N-A-S. He ran down the throats of the Blackshirts, rushing 25 times for 249 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Wisconsin also received contributions on the ground from Bradrick Shaw and grad transfer Rachid Ibrahim, who combined for 19 carries for 94 yards. As a team, the Badgers ran for 353 yards and more than seven yards per carry. After a pick six thrown by Alex Hornibrook, the Badgers handed the ball off nearly every play the rest of the way and ended the game with 22 consecutive runs, and Wisconsin pulled away for the 21-point win. Paul Chryst is now an incredible 10-1 in true road games, with the only loss coming by seven in Ann Arbor last season. Bucky is now 2-0 in the conference as he heads home for a pair of home games.
Starting with the positives......I mean, I sound like a broken record, but Jonathan Taylor is incredible. As I mentioned, he rushed for a career-high 249 yards and a pair of scores, while nearly rushing for an even 10 yards per carry. Taylor joins Ron Dayne as the only true freshmen with multiple 200-yard games in Wisconsin history. He is also just the 14th running back all-time to rush for 200 yards against Nebraska....and three of them are Badgers. Taylor joins Melvin Gordon and Montee Ball on that list. Not bad company for Mr. Taylor. After the Huskers scored on an 80-yard pass from Tanner Lee to Stanley Morgan to cut it to 10-7, Taylor took the first play after the kickoff 75 yards to the house. That was a theme this game. Every time Nebraska got back into the game and its crowd was in full throat, Wisconsin was able to quiet them down. Once Nebraska tied the game on the pick six, the Badgers gave the ball to the freshman six times and he gained 51 yards to help set up the Quintez Cephus touchdown to give the Badgers the 24-17 lead. Taylor also was given the ball six more times on the following drive that gave Bucky some breathing room. He gained 40 yards on those six runs and scored the touchdown to give the Badgers the 31-17 lead. Whenever Wisconsin was in trouble last night, Chryst gave the ball to his star freshman and good things happened. He was a monster against the Huskers. It is a sign of things to come.
The offensive line was battling injuries once again, but after Nebraska’s pick six tied the game, Chryst showed his faith in the banged up line, and the unit was up to the challenge. Following the pick six, Wisconsin scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives and the game was put away. They wore down the Cornhuskers. For the game, the offensive line helped the Badgers rush for more than seven yards per carry and 353 yards overall. The line also only allowed one sack of Hornibrook and he was not really pressured very much. They had a few holding calls early in the game, but bounced back nicely and was able to put the game away late. Major kudos to the offensive line. By far the unit’s best game of the season.
The job by this team to bounce back is incredible. It happened after Morgan’s long touchdown reception late in the first half to cut it to three. What happened next? Taylor rushed for a 75-yard touchdown to move the lead back out to 10. Hornibrook threw a horrible pick six, and then the Badgers marched down the field to respond. They had a bunch of obstacles last night, and was able to overcome them all. After the pick six thrown by Wisconsin, kick returner A.J. Taylor fumbled, but the Badgers recovered. However, they had to start at their own 7. Then, Wisconsin proceeded to drive 93 yards to take the lead right back. Cephus with one of the biggest plays of the game, a 31-yard catch on 3rd-and-4 to move the ball to the Nebraska 24. That set up his touchdown four plays later. Every time Nebraska thought it was on the verge of taking the lead or cutting into the deficit, the Badgers always came through and the crowd was kept silent. What great composure showed by Bucky last night.
Finally, the second half defense was terrific once again. Following a first half in which the Wisconsin defense allowed 313 yards of offense to Nebraska, the defense allowed just 68 yards to the Huskers offense in the final 30 minutes and no points. In the first half, Bucky’s defense was the definition of bend, but don’t break. Nebraska seemingly went up and down the field on the Wisconsin defense in the first half, but the Huskers only managed 10 points. You knew the Badgers defense would turn it on in the second half, and that is exactly what happened. That has been a theme this year. They have given up yards in the first half to their opponents, but have limited points. Whenever a play needed to be made, the defense did just that. With the score 31-17 and some fans still a bit nervous, Leonhard’s crew essentially ended the game with a fumble recovery in Nebraska territory. Leonhard has made incredible halftime adjustments, as his defense has only allowed 14 points in the second half.......and has scored 14 itself. The second half defense is bringing back the ‘Hard Rocks.’
Even in a big win like this, there were some disappointments. First off, I know I sound like a broken record here once again, but Wisconsin won in spite of Hornibrook, not because of him. He struggled once again, and has not played well since his incredible performance in Provo. The sophomore went just 9-of-17 for 113 yards with a touchdown and a pick a week after throwing two picks against Northwestern. In his two Big Ten games so far, Hornibrook is just 20-of-37 for 310 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. The Badgers will need more from him the rest of the year. All four of his picks this year have been ill-advised throws, and his pick six against Nebraska was a horrible decision, throwing late to the right sideline. Predictably, Aaron Williams jumped in front of the intended receiver and waltzed in for the score. After that, Chryst virtually took the ball out of Hornibrook’s hands the rest of the game. It was not all bad for the quarterback, though, as he came back with a couple of nice plays to give Bucky the lead back. His 3rd-and-4 completion to Cephus may have been the biggest play of the game. The crowd was rocking and Nebraska was looking to make a stop after tying the game up, but Hornibrook found Cephus over the middle for 31 yards to set Wisconsin up at the 24. He would hit Cephus again for the score to give the Badgers the lead in which they would never relinquish. As of now, he is eighth in the country in passer rating, but that has taken a hit in conference play. The Badgers will need improvement from him throughout the season, as there will be a point when they are not running well and will need him to help win the team the game.
For as good as Wisconsin’s defense has been, they tend to give up big plays on occasion. This is the third game in five that it has given up a play of at least 50 yards. Also, the defense starts a bit slow. Fortunately, for as many yards as it has given up in the first half, it has not given up many points. In fact, the most points it has given up in the first half is 14. But still, there is room for improvement.
Nebraska’s offensive line has not had a great start to the season, but the Badgers struggled to bring pressure yesterday. There were so many times Lee could sit back in the pocket with no pressure. That was when he could find open receivers, including the touchdown to Morgan. A week after tormenting Northwestern’s offensive line to the tune of eight sacks, Wisconsin was only able to come away with one sack last night. The Badgers did come up with a few timely pressures in the second half, though, to keep the Huskers at arm’s length.
It was a nice win last night for the Badgers, as they continued their ownage of the Cornhuskers. Night games are always a different animal, but Wisconsin was able to overcome adversity in the second half and pull away for the win. Next week, Wisconsin can further distance itself from the rest of the pack in the Big Ten West as the surprising Purdue Boilermakers come to Camp Randall. The game will kick at 2:30 CST and be on the Big Ten Network.
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