Wisconsin vs. Nebraska: Four things to watch as both teams try to become bowl eligible
WISCONSIN (5-5, 3-4 BIG TEN) VS. NEBRASKA (5-5, 3-4)
When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Camp Randall Stadium.
TV: NBC with Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analysis) and Kathryn Tappen (sideline).
Radio: FM-97.3 and AM-920 in Milwaukee and a state network with Matt Lepay (play-by-play), Mark Tauscher (analysis) and Patrick Herb (sideline).
Line: Wisconsin by 6½.
Series: Wisconsin leads, 12-4, including 6-1 in Madison.
Coaches: Luke Fickell (6-5, first full season; 69-30, seventh season overall) vs. Nebraska’s Matt Rhule (5-5, first season; 52-48, eighth season overall).
FOUR THINGS TO WATCH
Will Luke Fickell's players come out flying or will they get off to another slow start?
In the last five games, UW has been outscored, 72-23, in the first half. That led to losses to Iowa, Ohio State, Indiana and Northwestern. UW overcame a 14-7 halftime deficit to defeat Illinois, 25-21. UW hasn’t held a halftime lead since its 24-13 victory over Rutgers on Oct. 7. When Northwestern took control early last week, the Wildcats drained all the energy from the Camp Randall Stadium crowd and UW never recovered. Nebraska is banged up and limited on offense. But the Cornhuskers play sound defense and if they stymie UW early, the home crowd could grow restless and players could be frustrated.
With UW’s offense sputtering, the defense needs to take the ball away to help Phil Longo’s unit
UW enters the game with a minus-two turnover margin – 13 takeaways and 15 turnovers. Since forcing three turnovers in the loss to Ohio State, UW has gone two games without a takeaway. The Badgers have to take the ball way from Nebraska, which is 129th nationally out of 130 FBS teams in turnover margin (minus-14). The Cornhuskers have more interceptions thrown (14) than they have takeaways (13). Add 13 lost fumbles and you can understand why Nebraska is averaging just 16.0 points per game in Big Ten play, No. 12 in the league.
The Badgers struggle to score TDs in the red zone; Nebraska's defense is stingy in the red zone.
Big Ten teams have reached the red zone a total of 20 times in seven games against the Cornhuskers. That means the Cornhuskers have allowed a touchdown on just 35% of opponents’ red-zone trips. That is the No. 2 mark in the Big Ten behind Michigan (22.2%). That isn’t good news for the Badgers, who have scored 12 touchdowns on 22 trips (54.5%). UW took the opening kickoff last week against Northwestern and drove from its 28 to a first down at the Wildcats’ 16. Tanner Mordecai threw an incompletion on first down; Jackson Acker gained 2 yards on second down; and Mordecai was sacked for a 1-yard loss on third down. UW settled for a 33-yard field goal and the Badgers reached the red zone only two more times. The second chance ended with an incompletion on fourth and 4 from the 8, and the final chance ended when Acker scored on a 3-yard run with 11 seconds left.
No matter which running backs are available, UW must find a way to spark its ground game
UW rushed 46 times for 212 yards in the 24-13 victory over Rutgers the fifth game of the season. In the last five games, the Badgers have rushed a combined 140 times for 524 yards, an average of 3.7 per carry and 104.8 per game. Braelon Allen (ankle) wasn’t fully recovered last week and got just three carries. Will he be able to give UW more this week? “It didn't click at all,” Fickell said after UW was limited to 86 yards on 24 carries by Northwestern. “The reality is we couldn’t run the football, regardless of whatever the situation was, whether they were bringing safeties down, whether they were running linebackers. We have to be able to run the football.”
More: What is the Freedom Trophy? How Wisconsin-Nebraska Big Ten football game honors military
HISTORY LESSON
We’ll look back at the teams’ meeting last season in Lincoln.
UW was 3-4 in the Big Ten and 5-5 overall and needing to win one of its final two games to qualify for a bowl berth.
Playing less than a week after former teammate Devin Chandler was shot and killed in Virginia, the Badgers scored two touchdowns in the final 10 minutes to rally for a 15-14 victory.
Graham Mertz and Skyler Bell capped a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with a 10-yard pass to help UW pull within 15-9.
The two-point play failed, but Mertz capped a seven-play, 50-yard drive with a sneak from 2 yards to put UW ahead, 15-14, with 35 seconds left.
The two-point play failed again, but UW’s defense held on the final series and the Badgers had a critical, emotional victory.
Chez Mellusi (21 carries, 98 yards), Allen (18-92) and Isaac Guerendo (9-42) combined to rush for 232 yards.
Mertz passed for just 83 yards. But he hit Bell for a touchdown and then hit Guerendo for 27 yards to the Nebraska 7 to set up the winning score.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Badgers are a perfect 15-0 in night games at Camp Randall against unranked opponents. They are 20-6 overall in home night games. The last loss came earlier this season, 24-10, to then No. 3 Ohio State.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin vs. Nebraska: Four things to watch Saturday, Nov. 18
