On a blustery cold November afternoon in Memorial Stadium, the Wisconsin Badgers scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including the game winner with just 35 seconds remaining, to nip the Nebraska Cornhuskers 15-14 and extend a nine-game win streak against the hosts.
It has happened so many times in the last several years that you almost expect this team to lose in the last minute, but Husker fans were still hoping that maybe this could be the time the curse would be broken. No such luck. Nebraska has been snake bit so many times that they may actually be immune to the venom. Worse yet, this was the first fourth-quarter comeback win for Wisconsin since a triple-overtime win at Purdue in 2018. At least we were able to make Badger fans happy.
Once again, the Husker defense played gamely for three quarters allowing just a field goal, before wearing down in the final stanza. In the first quarter, Wisconsin managed just 30 yards on 13 plays, and they had only 111 yards at the break. It was the second straight home game the Huskers have shut out an opponent in the first half (Minnesota).
Like the Gopher game, the fourth quarter was the difference. The 18 mph wind with gusts up to 30 mph also made a difference as 26 of the 29 points scored came with the wind. Since there will be plenty of second guessing, should Nebraska have given Wisconsin both the ball and the wind in the third quarter in order to have the wind in the fourth?
Both the offense and the defense had a chance to put the game away in the final few possessions and failed. The Husker offense got the ball with a 14-9 lead with 4:58 to go and went three and out. The defense allowed Wisconsin to travel 50 yards in 7 plays on their final drive essentially exhausting the clock. The offense could do very little with the final 35 seconds, and one wonders why they wasted 7 seconds on a Tommi Hill 16-yard kickoff return that only got to the 21-yard line.
Last week I commented that the offensive line seemed to be improving. I was wrong. They are not. Nebraska managed just 171 total yards of offense, including 65 on the ground. The Huskers averaged 3.5 yards per play, ran just 49 plays, and had nine negative plays as the Badgers also had three sacks.
Quarterback Casey Thompson was the leading rusher as a result of him running for his life with 53 yards on 8 scrambles before subtracting 20 yards on the trio of sacks. Anthony Grant added 29 yards on 16 carries, a paltry 1.8-yard average. Trent Hixson continued to struggle with low snaps, and the line struggled to protect when Wisconsin just rushed three.
Thompson finished the day 12 for 20 passing for 106 yards as there was not time to beat the Badgers deep. He did throw a pair of touchdown passes, marking his fifth game with multiple touchdown passes and he has had at least one TD pass in all nine games he has played this season. He has now thrown for 2,129 yards with 14 touchdowns. Thompson walked with the rest of the seniors at the Senior Day festivities, and I will be shocked to see him return next year.
The main target for Thompson was Trey Palmer, who recorded his team leading sixth and seventh touchdown receptions on an 11-yard grab in the second quarter and a wide open 19-yard TD in the third quarter. He finished with 4 catches for 47 yards and now has 62 receptions for the season, moving him into a tie for sixth place on the Nebraska single-season receptions list. This marks the eighth 60-catch season in Nebraska history.
Travis Vokolek had 2 catches for 20 yards but totaled 21 yards after the catch. His grab and power run for 8 yards on a 3rd and 7 from the Wisconsin 12 was key to the Huskers being able to get their initial touchdown. I often wonder why he disappears from the play calls for quarters at a time when he is such an effective target. Marcus Washington (2 catches for 16 yards) and Chancellor Brewington (2 catches for 11 yards) both made key receptions on the two Husker scoring drives before the offense went silent. The 171 total yards were the Cornhuskers’ second fewest of the season.
In the 11 meetings since the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten, the Badgers came in averaging 301.1 rushing yards per game. They gained only 235 yards on the ground Saturday, but they averaged 4.5 yards per rush. In the third quarter they ran 13 out of 17 plays for 68 yards and in the fourth quarter, they ran 15 out of 19 plays for 75 yards. With the NU offense possessing the ball for 13:54 less than Wisconsin, the Badgers wore the defense down. Wisconsin out-gained the Huskers 119-27 in the fourth quarter, including a 75-15 edge on the ground. The Badgers were also 2-of-3 on third down and held the ball for nearly 10 minutes.
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Going into the game, a key for the defense was to limit the run and to force Graham Mertz to throw. It worked in the first half as he was picked by Malcolm Hertzog, leading to a Husker score. Mertz only completed 8 passes the entire game but most were in key spots. Again, since Bill Busch took over, the defense has played solidly and well enough to win if they had gotten any consistent help from their compatriots.
Freshman linebacker Ernest Hausmann led the defense with 12 tackles, bettering his career high of 10 tackles last week against Michigan. Hausmann had eight tackles before halftime. As I noted last week, this kid has improved tremendously, and I look forward to what he can do in the future. Fellow freshman Hartzog’s interception was his team-leading third pick of the season. The 23-yard return on the interception was also the longest by Nebraska this season.
Junior defensive lineman Colton Feist had a career-high 10 tackles including a TFL, bettering his previous career high of six tackles earlier this season against Illinois. Junior edge rusher Garrett Nelson also had 10 tackles – one shy of his career high – giving Nebraska three players with double-figure tackles. That happens when there is a 70-49 difference in plays by each side. Linebacker Luke Reimer tallied nine tackles to increase his career total to 245, moving him into the top 15 on the Nebraska career tackles list. The injury to Marques Buford looked Theismann-esque ugly and I can only hope the young man can wholly recover.
Special teams were again somewhat a mixed blessing. Punter Brian Buschini averaged 43.5 yards on six punts, including a career-long 74-yard punt in the third quarter, bettering his 65-yard boot against Georgia Southern. The 74-yard punt was the seventh-longest punt in Nebraska history and longest since William Przystup had an 84-yard punt vs. Northwestern last season. Even though it dribbled into the endzone for a touchback, I’ll take a 54-yard net punt anytime. Again, the wind was definitely a factor as it resulted in the Badger placekicker coming up short on a 39-yard field goal, and there were a few punts that struggled to gain distance. It did allow Brendan Franke to notch touchbacks on all three of his kickoffs.
After a Wisconsin score cutting the lead to 14-9, an unsportsmanlike penalty was assessed on the kickoff, giving the Huskers a chance at excellent field position following an 18-yard kickoff return by Zach Weinmaster to the Husker 37, but a hold by Eteva Mauga-Clements cost the Huskers 10 yards. These kinds of mistakes are killers when momentum is so tough to maintain in close games. Those little mistakes prove costly and prevent big wins.
It was Senior Day, and 31 Husker players took part in the activities before the game…. #2 Caleb Tannor; #5 Eteva Mauga-Clements; #5 Omar Manning; #11 Casey Thompson; #18 Matt Masker; #29 Cooper Jewett; #31 Chris Kolarevic; #32 Brody Belt; #32 Ochaun Mathis; #34 Beau Psencik; #4 Simon Otte; #36 Chase Contreraz; #37 Phalen Sanford; #39 Grant Detlefsen; #40 Darius Moore; #53 Riley Moses; #53 Jake Archer; #54 Ryan Schommer; #55 Brady Weas; #58 Ian Boerkircher; #62 Noah Stafursky; #73 Broc Bando; #75 Trent Hixson; #82 Chancellor Brewington; #82 Colton Feist; #83 Travis Vokolek; #85 Wyatt Liewer; #89 Oliver Martin; #91 Devin Drew; #91 Cameron Pieper; #93 Gabe Heins.
Unfortunately, the Huskers are just 14-29 over the past four years. For those players who have been in the program for six years, they have generated a record of 22-44 (.333) to this point with three head coaches, three position coaches, four offensive coordinators and no bowl games. It’s the worst stretch by a senior class since just before the Bob Devaney era when a five-year run saw the program go 15-34-1 from 1957-61. I appreciate the blood, sweat and tears these players have shed in their commitment to the scarlet and cream, but we have got to do better and these guys deserve better than the hand they were dealt.
Next Friday the Huskers mercifully finish another losing campaign as they travel to Iowa City to face the Dirt Chickens, who kicked a field goal Saturday with 28 seconds left to beat Minnesota 13-10. The Iowa defense feasts on turnovers and fortunately, the Husker offense has not committed a turnover in the last two games. With both teams featuring anemic offenses, 10 points may be enough to win, although it may be fitting to go into overtime tied at zero.
At this point, it seems all but certain that Mickey Joseph will not be retained as head coach. It will be interesting, though, if the new coach retains Mickey and/or Bill Busch. The long bowl-less offseason will sting a little less if Nebraska can pull an upset on Black Friday. Go Big Red!!
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