Badgers live in holes in the Ground. Let’s keep it that way.
Here we go, finally. Nebraska has a chance to turn their entire season around with a simple win, in a game that most had circled on their calendar at the start of the season. Contrary to what most people (including me) thought was the end of the world after losing to Northern Illinois, Nebraska controls their own destiny. Mike Riley controls his own career and maybe, just maybe, Nebraska can control the future road this program takes.
It’s no secret that the first two games of the conference season were supposed to be blowouts. That’s what teams that have a chance to win their division need to do, blow out the bottom teams in the conference. After the Northern Illinois debacle, we weren’t sure how this team would react. What happened was, the team changed players, adjusted their approach and finally figured out some things that worked consistently. Now is the time to put that to work against the best team in their division.
If Nebraska wasn’t playing at home, I don’t think this game would be open for interpretation. Last year was the first time that Nebraska played Wisconsin tough at home, taking them to overtime. Remove that game, since joining the Big Ten, Nebraska simply has gotten their doors blown out by Wisconsin away from Memorial Stadium. I doubt that would change this year, but luckily we don’t have to find out. That’s why Nebraska might win this game, regardless of the 12.5 point underdog that Las Vegas thinks the Huskers are.
So why can Nebraska win this game? The first thing to look at for Nebraska the last two games is the trenches. Since Michael Decker and Brenden Jaimes have been inserted into the lineup, Nebraska has protected Tanner Lee better. Not only that, but it seems like the team has been better at communicating up front. There are still the occasional lapses when blitzers have not been picked up, but man to man, the team seems to be more physical with these two in the lineup. Not only that, but running back Devine Ozigbo has brought a physical style to the team that seems to be rubbing off onto Mikale Wilbon as well. The entire team feeds off from their aggressive running. For whatever reason Ozigbo didn’t play the first two games, he has taken the position as his own since and will start this week. If Nebraska can continue the improvement up front on offense, this game may have some life to it for Nebraska.
On the defensive side, Bob Diaco continues to figure out the chess pieces that he has. Nebraska has shifted more from the three man front to a four man front on passing downs and it has paid off handsomely. Nebraska is starting to get pressure on the quarterback. You might say, well its Illinois and Rutgers, but Northwestern proved last week that you can get to Badger quarterback Alex Hornibrook. He wasn’t the same quarterback in the second half when Northwestern started hitting him. If Carlos and Khalil Davis along with Ben Stille and Freedom Akinmoladun can continue to apply pressure while clogging up the middle, Nebraska should be able to slow the Wisconsin running game down enough to stay in the ball game.
I say all this, in a vacuum that Nebraska will continue to improve on offense and defense. That’s not a given, we know that. The thing that works in Nebraska’s favor though, is the game is being played at night in Memorial Stadium. The games that Nebraska has lost in the past at home have been early games that the team has started out flat and never really recovered, at least in the Riley era. If you recall though, when Nebraska played Michigan State at home in Riley’s first season, the Spartans were the better team, but the crowd energized the Huskers and it paid off. Nebraska came out and played well right away. They need to hit that same stride early to beat Wisconsin.
I’m not as sold on Wisconsin being a top 5 or top ten team. I think they are very good, they don’t make many mistakes and they are very physical with you up front. Where I see the kinks in the armor, is that Wisconsin hasn’t faced anybody with a lot of talent. Their wins have come against teams that are much less athletic than the Badgers are. Nebraska, for all their problems, has playmakers on the team.
I think the thing that has me most excited is the Husker Blackshirts that are slowly becoming a physical unit up front. On the back end, they are by no means a finished product, but Josh Kalu and Chris Jones will both play this week. That has to build the confidence of the defense. Antonio Reed has played great in Kalu’s absence, but Chris Jones is a huge upgrade at cornerback if he is healthy. Even if he only plays half the snaps, it’s a big lift to the defense. Don’t underestimate the amount of will a team has by getting their best player back. Having two of them might make a huge difference.
Nebraska needs to come out and punch Wisconsin in the mouth. They have been beating on the door the last two years. It’s time for them to knock it down.
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ON WITH THE REWIND…
Our previous score prediction for the Illinois game was Nebraska 31 – Illinois 21. The actual score was 28-6 and the Huskers left little doubt that they were the better team. I thought Illinois would have more success with their offense. They had really good receivers, but their quarterback simply wasn’t a good passer. Nebraska attacked their defense methodically and put together long drives. If the Huskers continue to do that, using both the air and ground evenly, they will be a tough team to beat the second half of the season.
Quick Notes:
The Season really starts on Saturday… Whatever has happened, good and bad, Nebraska can really change the narrative on their season this weekend. Beat Wisconsin and you are 3-0 in conference and basically have a 2 game lead on Wisconsin to win the west. Nebraska still has a hard schedule with Ohio State at home and Penn State on the road, but if you beat Wisconsin, you are saying to the rest of the Western Conference, that you are playing for keeps. I said it above, but Riley’s job may depend on it.
Mike Riley mentored Wisconsin’s Head Coach…. I don’t think it is coincidence that since Mike Riley has been the head coach at Nebraska that the Huskers have played the Badgers well. Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst started out on Mike Riley’s staff back in 1991 and has spent a lot of his career with Riley. Wisconsin has ran Paul Chryst’s offense basically since Riley got here (Chryst was the offensive coordinator for the Badgers before leaving and coming back to be head coach) and the offense that they run is similar to Riley’s. That is an advantage to Riley because he knows how to counter a lot of it. I am anxious to see if it pays off on Riley’s third try to beat Wisconsin. I think it will.
Danny Langsdorf hitting his stride… Nebraska seems to be figuring things out on offense. They understand that they don’t have the burners to stand in the pocket all day or wait for a screen to set up. They are executing the quicker passing game and I think it is paying off for Tanner Lee. Lee needs to be quicker with his reads, but Langsdorf has implemented some different running plays to take pressure off of Lee and in turn, spent more time in max protect when Nebraska has needed more time in the passing game. I expect this to continue. Lee will continue to get better. This week he needs to be at his best.
Score Prediction: Nebraska 31 – Wisconsin 27
Call me a homer, call me a dreamer, but I have a feeling Nebraska wins this game. There are so many things that are snowballing in Nebraska’s favor, from getting healthy, figuring out the running game, the defense getting better and a night game at Memorial Stadium, this is a lot for an opposing team to overcome. My biggest fear, is that Nebraska gets punched in the face early, like they did at Oregon and they don’t have the mental fortitude to figure it out and battle back. This game is an awesome opportunity for Nebraska Football in so many ways. I think the good guys sneak one out this weekend. Yeah, I’m a homer! GBR!!!
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