Final take: Nebraska showed fight, but Wisconsin finished

Nebraska showed plenty of fight on Saturday, but in the end, Wisconsin figured out how to finish.

Programs that have a solid foundation usually do. No program in the Big Ten West has won more than the Badgers since the Huskers joined the league. On a day when they were far from their best, Jim Leonhard’s squad figured out the winning formula. Mark Whipple and the NU offense could not, as Wisconsin left Memorial Stadium with a 15-14 victory.

“I told (the team) today they’re a better football team than the day I met them in December,” head coach Mickey Joseph said in defeat. “We’re going to continue to get better, day in and day out. We’re going to come back next week, and we’re going to play hard again and look for a different result. Just didn’t happen today. This one hurts.”

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Wisconsin ran for nearly 250 yards vs. Nebraska

NU had a 14-3 lead nearing the 10-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Everything appeared to be going its way, but the Badgers got the wind behind them and put together a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, and a seven-play, 50-yard scoring drive.

“We knew we had them on their heels a little bit in the run game, and we wanted to stay patient,” Badger head coach Jim Leonhard said.

Wisconsin produced all 15 of its points on three of its final four possessions. After Trey Palmer’s touchdown put the Huskers up 14-3, NU managed just 27 yards of total offense on its final 13 plays.

“We have to teach them to close them out and how we can close them out,” Joseph said when talking about not finishing out the game when up 14-3.

Whipple’s offense has now scored 14 or fewer points in six out of eight games since the firing of Scott Frost on Sept. 11. The offense scored its first touchdown after a 23-possession drought that spanned back to the Minnesota game.

“In the Big Ten especially, this conference has taught me a lot,” quarterback Casey Thompson said. “It’s a lot different than the Big 12. There’s a lot of possessions in the Big 12. In the Big Ten, there are good defenses and really good running backs and running games. Wisconsin, all they did was run the ball.

“I think they threw the ball one or two times in the whole first quarter. When you play against a team that is going to run the ball a lot, and that has a good running back and running game, it’s also important to be able to sustain drives.”

You feel for Nebraska’s seniors. They were so close to having a signature moment on Saturday. The Huskers have not beaten Wisconsin since 2012.

They will get one more shot on Friday at Iowa.

“They’re just a great group of guys, great character kids, just great, great, great players,” Joseph said of his seniors. “They haven’t gotten the wins that they wanted, but they come in this building every day, never negative, always positive, and they come in here to work. And that’s what you appreciate from them. And that’s the type of team that you want. You want a high character team, that no matter what they’re going to come in here and give you work. I’ll take my hat off to them. We’re going to miss them.”

Now on to the breakdown…

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What I saw on Saturday

***Of the players that participated in senior day, Casey Thompson and Ochaun Mathis were the two most notable who walked. It doesn’t mean they will not be back at NU, but you can’t blame either if they move on. Thompson will get his master’s degree in December, while Mathis already has his degree from TCU. I’m sure NIL and the new head coach hire will also play a factor in both players’ decisions on what they decide to do.

***It was neat to see former Husker baseball player and World Series Champion Jake Meyers get honored on Saturday.

***Joseph got on running back Anthony Grant a couple of times during the game for missing some pass protection blocks.

***The wind was a big factor. I question Nebraska’s decision to take the wind in the third quarter vs. having it in the fourth. The Badgers deferred and took the ball in the second half. NU took the wind for the third quarter. Looking back, you needed the wind for the fourth quarter.

***The injury to Marques Buford was “brutal,” Joseph said after the game. It had a big impact as well. It moved Isaac Gifford to safety and Javin Wright to nickel. The Badgers went right at Wright with a wheel route with the game on the line to set up the game-winning score.

***We also saw quite a bit of Braxton Clark in this game in the secondary. He was offsides on a key defensive play that wiped away a 15-yard clipping call on Wisconsin. He also got beat in coverage on the Badgers’ first touchdown.

***Wisconsin’s Nick Herbig was ejected twice from the football game, which has to be a first. He was ejected for targeting but came onto the field and celebrated later in the game without a helmet, which is another personal foul. The second time, Herbig was forced to exit the sideline.

***There is a fine line between winning and losing. If Joseph would’ve pulled the win out over Wisconsin, and the Badgers dropped next week’s game against Minnesota, you have to wonder if Jim Leonhard was still a shoo-in to get the job still? This, by the way, was the most beatable Wisconsin has looked since the Huskers joined the Big Ten.

***Nebraska’s offense did not have a 10+ yard run after the first quarter. All three of its 10+ yard runs were in the first quarter.

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The final grade out

	Grade	HOL take
Rushing offense	F	Nebraska’s most consistent run offense was scramble plays by Thompson. The running backs had just 17 carries for 33 yards. You aren’t going to win on a cold November Saturday with a running game like that.
Pass offense	C+	Thompson found Palmer for two touchdowns and finished 12-of-20 for 106 yards. The wind and conditions made it very hard to throw the football. NU’s lack of protection also was a factor, as Thompson did not have much time to operate.
Rushing defense	D	Nebraska’s defense battled, but Wisconsin finished 248 sack-adjusted rush yards, averaging 4.9 per carry. On a blustery, cold November Saturday, that’s how you win in the Big Ten. Nothing fancy, just ground and pound. Once again, NU’s style of offense and lack of total plays also put the defense in a position to be on the field for more plays. The Badgers averaged 5.5 yards per carry on 25 first-down runs.
Passing defense	B	47 of Wisconsin’s 83 yards passing came on two throws. Non bigger than the wheel route on Javin Wright to Isaac Guerendo that set up the Badgers’ game-winning score. Overall though, this was a solid effort by the Husker pass defense.
Special teams	C-	Special teams plays were hard to come by with the wind conditions. NU needed to do more in the return game. When Wisconsin kicked off from the 20, the Huskers got to the 37, but the return was moved back 10 yards due to holding. You would’ve liked to have seen Oliver Martin attempt a return when fielding a punt near the 10 with nobody around, but the Huskers were in punt safe. Brian Buschini launched a 74-yard punt that could have been a game-changer if it took the right bounce. Wisconsin managed to set up a couple of good punt returns.