It was basically the championship game for the West Division in the Big Ten. No. 7 Nebraska came in undefeated at 7-0, but had not played anyone close to the quality of Wisconsin. No. 11 Wisconsin came in at 5-2, having bounced back with a road win in Iowa City after suffering two consecutive heartbreaking losses. Even though Nebraska would still lead the division with a loss, the Cornhuskers had a date with Ohio State in Columbus looming. This game would be tight throughout, with the biggest lead of the game being 10 points in the third quarter. Dare Ogunbowale would be the unlikely hero in this game, rushing for a career-high 120 yards on just 11 carries and would score the game-winning touchdown in overtime to give the Badgers the 23-17 win.
Wisconsin needed to win out to win the division. There was no way the Badgers were going to win the division if they lost to the Huskers since they would be three games back with four to play and lose the tiebreaker. This was the second consecutive night game at Camp Randall Stadium, and the second consecutive overtime game in Madison. The previous game at Camp Randall was an overtime loss to Ohio State. The Badgers needed a last-second field goal to beat Nebraska in Lincoln in 2015.
It looked like Bucky was going to have an easy time of it, as the Badgers scored on their second possession in easy fashion. Wisconsin started with great field position at its own 49 after a 24-yard punt return by Corey Clement. The scoring drive was just two plays. After a 30-yard pass from Alex Hornibrook to Troy Fumagalli, Bradrick Shaw blasted through a gaping hole and raced 21 yards for the score to put the Badgers on the board first.
The 7-0 score would last until early in the second quarter. Nebraska would have a chance to tie the score late in the first, but Sojourn Shelton picked off a Tommy Armstrong pass deep in Badgers territory. But Bucky would not be so lucky on the next Cornhuskers possession. Nebraska forced a three-and-out and Anthony Lotti had a relatively short punt, which De’Mornay Pierson-El returned 15 yards to the Wisconsin 42. The biggest play on the drive would be an Armstrong 36-yard pass to Jordan Westerkamp to the Badgers 4 on the final play of the opening quarter. Three plays later, Devine Ozigbo blasted in from a yard out to tie the game at 7.
Following the Wisconsin touchdown, Nebraska dominated much of the remainder of the half. After the Badgers score, the Huskers started their next four first half possessions at the 25, 44, Wisconsin 42 and the Nebraska 40. Amazingly, the Badgers defense allowed only seven points on those four drives. The final of those four drives was ended when D’Cota Dixon picked off a deflected pass and set the Badgers up with great field position at midfield. That intereception would help set up an Andrew Endicott field goal to give the Badgers a 10-7 lead, which would remain until halftime.
Despite the fact that Nebraska had dominated the field position battle, Wisconsin held the slim edge at halftime. It was time for the Badgers offense to show up. It did just that on the opening possession in the second half. Wisconsin drove 73 yards in 13 plays to give Bucky a 17-7 lead, capped off by a Hornibrook touchdown pass to Rob Wheelwright. The Badgers converted three third downs on the drive, including the touchdown. Ogunbowale, who dominated the second half, gained 40 yards on four carries, including a 15-yard gain on 3rd-and-7 deep in Nebraska territory. That all led up to a lofted touchdown from Hornibrook to Wheelwright to give the Badgers the 10-point lead. It would remain that way until an eventful fourth quarter.
However, when the fourth quarter started, Nebraska was on the doorstep of cutting its deficit to three once again. The 14-play, 75-yard drive lasted nearly six minutes and was capped off by an Armstrong two-yard run to cut it to 17-14. Westerkamp only had three catches in the game, but they were all timely. All three were for first downs and this Westerkamp catch on 3rd-and-7 set up the Huskers at the Badgers 13. Armstrong was 3-for-6 on the drive for 38 yards and all three completions were for third down conversions. He would also gain another 15 yards on the ground on three carries, including the touchdown.
Wisconsin would try to push the lead back to two scores, but its next two drives ended in interceptions. Both interceptions were by Nathan Gerry and he picked off both Hornibrook and Bart Houston. On the second possession, the Badgers used an Ogunbowale 39-yard run to move them into Nebraska territory. But two plays later, Gerry picked off Houston.
Following the pick, the Huskers traveled 52 yards in 11 plays to set up a Drew Brown 35-yard field goal to tie the game up at 17. The biggest play of the drive came on an Armstrong 25-yard pass to Stanley Morgan, Jr., to put Nebraska on the Wisconsin 21. Wisconsin got a long run by Clement on the next drive to Nebraska 34. The Badgers would play conservative and three runs gained them eight yards, but Andrew Endicott missed a field goal and the game stayed tied. This was the first game Endicott really struggled in replacing injured Rafael Gaglianone, who missed the final 10 games of the season with a back injury. Nebraska would drive close to midfield on the next possession, but would end up punting and the game went into overtime.
Nebraska won the toss and played defense first. Wisconsin wasted little time punching it into the end zone. Three Clement runs moved the ball down to the 11, and from there, Ogunbowale did the rest. On a 2nd-and-8 from the 11, Ogunbowale received the carry from the shotgun and broke a tackle in the backfield and followed his blocking until he found nothing but green in front of him and he scampered into the end zone for the 23-17 lead. But like I said, Endicott had a rough day. He would miss the extra point, and the lead remained at six, giving Nebraska a chance to win it in the first overtime. The Badgers defense stood tall. The first three plays for Nebraska gained two yards and the Cornhuskers faced a 4th-and-8 from the 23. Armstrong went back to pass and lofted a pass into the end zone intended for Morgan, who had beaten Shelton at the line of scrimmage. But Dixon came over from his safety spot and knocked the ball away to seal the six-point win.The win was the second of six consecutive victories for the Badgers, and Wisconsin would represent the West Division in the Big Ten Championship game. Nebraska would not recover, as the Huskers would be annihilated in Columbus the following week 62-3 to fall into a tie with Wisconsin. Overall, Nebraska would lose four of its final six games after the hot start and Bucky would win the division title outright.
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