27. Wisconsin 38, Nebraska 17 (2017)

Wisconsin came in at 4-0, winning every game by multiple scores, but only one of those was a road game. Granted, that was a 40-6 domination of BYU. Nebraska was 3-2 and had won its last two, but those were against two of the worst teams in the Big Ten, Illinois and Rutgers. Still, this was a night game and Memorial Stadium is a tough place to play at night.

But the Badgers ran all over Nebraska (again) to the tune of 353 yards, led by Jonathan Taylor’s 249 and a pair of touchdowns, as Wisconsin turned a tie game in the second half to a 21-point win over the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska actually began the game with a great drive brewing. On a first down play from its own 38, Nebraska quarterback Tanner Lee lofted it down the field to an open De'Mornay Pierson-El for 37 yards down to the Wisconsin 25. Three plays later, disaster struck the home team. Facing a 3^rd-and-2, Lee quickly swung it out to Devine Ozigbo, who wasn’t ready for the pass. The ball hit Ozigbo in the head and the ball bounced up in the air. Wisconsin linebacker Chris Orr caught it for the interception and ran it back 78 yards down the left sideline for the game’s first touchdown. The pick six thrown by Lee was his fourth of the season in just six games.

The Badgers made it 10-0 on their next drive on an 11-play drive. The biggest play was a Taylor 30-yard run down to the Cornhuskers 25. An illegal block penalty derailed the drive, though, so Wisconsin had to settle for a field goal.

It stayed that way until the final minutes of the first half.

While each team had a strong drive in the second quarter, but neither team dented the scoreboard.

As good as the defense was in the first half, they were burned on a long pass in the final two minutes of the half. Lee found an open Stanley Morgan, Jr., who cleared linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel in the zone, and Morgan raced to the end zone for an 80-yard score.

But that lead was only three points for a short time. On the first play following the kickoff, Taylor received the handoff from quarterback Alex Hornibrook and found a seam and slipped a few tackles, rolling 75 yards for the touchdown for a great answer.

Not to be outdone, though, Nebraska embarked on an 11-play drive that led to a short Drew Brown short field goal to cut it 17-10 at the half.

While Nebraska was trailing, it proved it could move the ball on Wisconsin.

And its defense would make its mark early in the second half.

With Bucky clinging to a 17-10 lead, Hornibrook took the snap and failed to find an open receiver. He tried to throw an outlet extremely late to the right sideline, but it was jumped and picked off by Nebraska’s Aaron Williams, who strolled in 14 yards for the game-tying touchdown.

Wisconsin needed to respond quickly against a jacked up team and crowd. A punt or another turnover would have been devastating. But the Badgers responded with three touchdowns in their final three full possessions to win it going away.

The Badgers began in a hole after a holding penalty forced them to start at their own 15. It was even worse after an unsportsmanlike conduct flag pushed them back to their own 7. But Taylor made sure the Badgers would get out of trouble, rushing for 32 yards on his first three carries of the drive.

The play of the drive was a connection from Hornibrook to Quintez Cephus. With the crowd in full throat on a 3^rd-and-4 from the Wisconsin 45, Nebraska brought the pressure. Hornibrook hung in and threw it over the middle on a crossing pattern, which was killing Nebraska all day. Cephus caught it running from left to right and glided his way for 31 yards down to the Huskers 24. Four plays later, Hornibrook connected with Cephus again to put Bucky back on top. On 3^rd-and-Goal from the 5, Hornibrook threw a back shoulder throw to Cephus in the end zone and the wide receiver grabbed in the end zone to take the lead back.

Wisconsin forced a punt on Nebraska’s next possession and the Badgers drove 80 yards in 10 plays to put some distance between them and the Huskers. All 10 plays were runs and Rachid Ibrahim’s 24-yard gallop put the visitors in scoring range down to the 15. Four plays later, Taylor crashed in from two yards out to open up the game.

A fumble on the next possession for Nebraska gave Wisconsin the ball at the Huskers 40. It took the Badgers 10 plays, with no play going for more than nine yards, but the visitors put away the game when Bradrick Shaw plowed in from a yard out.

Nebraska turned it over on downs and Wisconsin ran out the clock, clinching the victory.

The game was the fifth straight win to open the season for Wisconsin, as it would win its first 12 to begin the campaign. The 13 wins in the 2017 season remain the most in school history.