Nebraska/Wisconsin review

It was not even close to a Picasso-type performance, but the Badgers knocked off the Nebraska Cornhuskers 41-24 at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday evening. The teams combined for 1,051 yards of offense, so the Badgers did what they needed to do against Nebraska, but Wisconsin still has a long ways to go, especially on defense. Sensational sophomore Jonathan Taylor ran for 221 yards on 24 carries and three touchdowns. In his two games against the Cornhuskers, Taylor has run for 470 yards and five touchdowns. In the last six games against Nebraska, Wisconsin has rushed for an average of 368.8 yards per game and have rushed for than 500 twice and only below 350 twice. Wisconsin improved to 4-1 and maintained a one-game lead in the Big Ten West. With the loss, Nebraska dropped to 0-5 on the season, its worst start to a season in its 129-year history. This was also the ninth consecutive loss for the Cornhuskers, which extends a program record. The win for the Badgers marked the 17th consecutive regular season Big Ten win, and the 14th straight victory over Big Ten West competition. The last time Wisconsin lost to a Big Ten West foe was the regular season finale in 2015 against Northwestern, in a game that is simply referred to as #JazzCaughtIt. This was the 10th straight win in a trophy game for the Badgers.

The first positive has to be the offensive line, and Taylor. I will lump them into one here. Not only did the offensive line pave the way for Taylor to gain 221 yards, but that line only gave up one sack. Great job by the offensive line. I mentioned the sophomore gained 221 yards for his second consecutive game 200+-yard performance against Nebraska. It was also his fifth game of at least 200 yards on the ground for him. His five are the third most in school history, only trailing Ron Dayne and Melvin Gordon. With his strong performance, he moved into 14th place on Wisconsin’s all-time rushing list. His 88-yard touchdown run was the longest run by a Badger since Melvin Gordon had an 88-yard run at Iowa in 2014. Taylor remains No. 1 in the country in rushing yards (169.8). Not to be outdone, backup running backs Taiwan Deal and Garrett Groshek also had big days, combining for 147 yards on 19 carries. As a team, the Badgers ran for 370 yards. Nebraska is certainly not a brick wall when stopping the run, but it certainly is nice to see the offensive line take control and dominate. The unit looked like the best group in the country. They’ll need them to play great next weekend as well against a salty Michigan front seven.

Wisconsin was able to generate a bit of pressure against Nebraska freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez, as the Badgers recorded two sacks and seven quarterback hurries, both are the most they have had in a game this season. All-American linebacker T.J. Edwards had both the sacks, which ties his sack total from all of last season. After not having one quarterback hurry of Nate Stanley against Iowa, the Badgers were able to pressure Martinez a bit. A healthy Andrew Van Ginkel is a real weapon for the Badgers. The senior linebacker did not have a tackle in limited snaps, but he did record two quarterback hurries. If he can consistently get pressure on opposing quarterbacks, Wisconsin’s defense could be a pretty good one. Both him and Zack Baun had two quarterback hurries. Starting in place of Van Ginkel, Tyler Johnson added two 2.5 tackles for loss. Wisconsin’s defense has a long way to go, but this is promising.

Finally, it’s nice to see senior kicker Rafael Gaglianone get back on track. His last attempt was the miss at the end of the game against BYU that would have sent that one into overtime. He did not have an attempt at Iowa, so it was great seeing him with the bounce back with two early field goals against Nebraska. It was his first made field goal since New Mexico in week two. Also, with his two field goals, he tied Todd Gregoire for most field goals in school history. With his five extra points, it makes 190 extra points for Gaglianone in his career, which is 17 behind Philip Welch for the school record. The two successful field goals have made him 5-of-6 on the year, and it appears his mini-funk (or bad miss against BYU) is behind him.

The pass defense is still horrible. It did not help that one starter Caesar Williams did not play, and the other, Faion Hicks, was playing at less than 100 percent. Sophomore Madison Cone played quite a bit, and looked.....inexperienced. True freshman Rachad Wildgoose also received a significant amount of playing time. Redshirt freshman Deron Harrell left the game with a head injury, so the Badgers had a depleted secondary. Martinez for Nebraska threw for 384 yards against a banged up and inexperienced secondary. The Nebraska freshman’s 384 passing yards is the most one player has thrown for against Wisconsin since Trace McSorley also threw for 384 in the 2016 Big Ten Championship game. Sophomore Andrew Bunch came in and threw for 23 yards of his own. The 518 yards allowed by the defense is the most they’ve allowed since Michigan State gained 564 yards in 2007. Amazingly, that was also in a win. The defense needs to get healthy and grow up fast because the Badgers have a huge test next Saturday in Michigan.

Overall, it was a meh performance. And to be honest, it is how I thought the game would go. To say both defenses are not very good would be an understatement. And with both offenses being two of the best in the league, a shootout should not have surprised anyone. Wisconsin will need to perform much better, as it goes to Ann Arbor for a date with Michigan for its third straight night game. The Michigan defense will not be a pushover like Nebraska’s.