Wisconsin vs. Nebraska: Keys to victory, HuskerOnline score predictions for Saturday

Can Nebraska (3-7, 2-5) win its first football game in over a month? Wisconsin (5-5, 3-4) comes to town under their interim head coach Jim Leonhard to take on the Huskers.

NU got some good news this week, as quarterback Casey Thompson. Will that make a difference?

As we get closer to kickoff, here are today’s keys to victory for Nebraska vs. Wisconsin, along with the HuskerOnline score predictions for Saturday. NU is currently a 9.5-point underdog for today’s game against the Badgers. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.

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KEYS TO VICTORY: Wisconsin vs. Nebraska

KEY 1: 20 touches for Anthony Grant

For Nebraska to have a chance to win this game, they need to get running back Anthony Grant in rhythm. Ideally, Grant needs 20 touches on Saturday.

KEY 2: Put the game in Graham Mertz’s hands for Wisconsin

Wisconsin quarterback Grahm Mertz has struggled at times this season. NU has to pressure Mertz and make him win this game with his arm. Two weeks ago against Maryland, he was just 5-of-18 passing for 77 yards.

KEY 3: Reintroduce Trey Palmer in the offense

Nebraska has had a heck of a time getting the ball to wide receiver Trey Palmer since the injury to Thompson. Offensive coordinator Mark Whipple needs to draw a few things up to get Palmer going on Saturday.

KEY 4: Tackling and fundamentals

Wisconsin will not do anything complicated on offense, but what they do, they do well. NU needs to have sound fundamentals and tackling on running back Braelon Allen. A year ago, Allen made the Huskers pay for poor tackling and fundamentals.

KEY 5: Dig deep

Look, Nebraska has to want this. The Huskers have not beaten Wisconsin since 2012. Mickey Joseph has reminded the players of that all week. NU has to dig deep and play sound football for four quarters.

Exclusive Tunnel Talk: The latest on the Nebraska coaching search

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EXPERT TAKE

Sean Callahan – HuskerOnline Pubisher

Casey Thompson’s return should bring Trey Palmer to life in Nebraska’s offense. The Huskers will find a few plays down the field that have been missing the last few weeks. Wisconsin’s offense is a good match-up for the Husker defense. Nebraska will figure out a way to pull this one out. This is the most beatable Wisconsin team since NU joined the Big Ten.

Nebraska 19, Wisconsin 17

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Steven Sipple – HuskerOnline columnist

Casey Thompson being under center obviously could help Nebraska’s chances. But how long can Thompson (or any Husker quarterback) last in the game against a Wisconsin defense that’s recorded a combined 11 sacks in the last two games, including six last week against Iowa? Earlier this season, UW recorded nine sacks against Michigan State. Yes, nine. Meanwhile, Braelen Allen will hammer away against a Nebraska defense that has been scrappy but may be wearing down.  

Wisconsin 21, Nebraska 17

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Robin Washut – HuskerOnline senior writer

Having Casey Thompson back on the field is huge for Nebraska, as now it actually has a chance against Wisconsin. We’ll have to see how healthy Thompson actually is, but his presence alone should keep the Huskers competitive.

Wisconsin 24, Nebraska 21

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Andy Kendeigh – KETV ABC-Omaha

Which team can play its way out of the phone booth?   Wisconsin’s offensive attack certainly has its limitations, especially if Nebraska can stop the run.   Nebraska getting Casey Thompson back is huge.  If he’s close to 100 percent the Huskers will move the ball enough to snap a decade-long winless streak against Bucky, Mickey Joseph gets his best win as interim head coach and for the first time Nebraska will win the Freedom Trophy.

Nebraska 17, Wisconsin 14

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Jim Rose – 1110 KFAB Radio-Omaha

Wisconsin just isn’t very good on offense and the Huskers get Casey Thompson back which means just enough big plays to win this one.   But at game’s end, you won’t want to hang it on the refrigerator.

Nebraska 20, Wisconsin 14

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Mike’l Severe – Big Red Wrap-Up

Here we go again with changing my pick from Big Red Wrap-up, but we weren’t sure if Casey Thompson was going to play at the beginning of the week.

Now that we know Casey is good-to-go, I think NU can has some success through the air. Both Purdue and Michigan State took advantage of the lowest-ranked defensive unit for the Badgers.

Nebraska and Wisconsin are both in the bottom 30 for explosive plays and UW is the 3^rd slowest team in the B1G, so I don’t think we get a bunch of points. I do so see this one being tight and NU winning with a walk-off FG and breaking the decade-long losing streak.

Nebraska 20, Wisconsin 17

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HuskerOnline Week 12 Score Predictions

Week 12	Sean Callahan	Steven Sipple	Robin Washut	Andy Kendeigh	Jim Rose	Mike’l Severe
Wisconsin at Nebraska	19-17 Nebraska	21-17 Wisconsin	24-21 Wisconsin	17-14 Nebraska	20-14 Nebraska	20-17 Nebraska
Illinois at Michigan	27-13 Michigan	24-10 Michigan	31-23 Michigan	24-17 Michigan	31-10 Michigan	34-17 Michigan
Iowa at Minnesota	17-13 Iowa	17-13 Iowa	20-13 Minnesota	24-20 Minnesota	17-10 Minnesota	16-14 Iowa
Ole Miss at Arkansas	38-31 Ole Miss	37-31 Ole Miss	38-35 Ole Miss	31-28 Ole Miss	35-24 Ole Miss	34-30 Arkansas
USC at UCLA	31-27 USC	41-31 USC	44-42 UCLA	37-31 USC	35-27 USC	41-31 UCLA
Utah at Oregon	41-34 Oregon	34-28 Oregon	28-24 Oregon	34-27 Oregon	37-31 Utah	31-28 Utah

HuskerOnline Score Prediction Standings

Expert picker	Straight Up	vs. The Spread	Cumulative Total
Mike’l Severe Big Red Wrap-Up	39-16	23-32	62
Jim Rose KFAB/iHeart Radio	32-23	27-28	59
Sean Callahan HuskerOnline	33-22	24-31	57
Andy Kendeigh KETV ABC-Omaha	34-21	23-32	57
Steven Sipple HuskerOnline	30-25	24-31	54
Robin Washut HuskerOnline	29-26	18-37	47