When the Badgers moved 79 yards in 4 rushing plays and 1 minute, to go up 42-10 at halftime, my buddy sent me a text that read: "We have them right where we want them!"
Alas, not this time. Wisconsin kept their foot on the pedal, and kept running around, through, and over the "Blackshirts" and when it was all over, 6 games worth of football karma had bitten Nebraska hard.
There's not a lot more that needs to be said, so we'll just forge on with the review.
Offensive MVP: Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon. Before he took those last few meaningless hand-offs in the fourth quarter, Gordon was averaging better than 40 yards a carry. He scored from 56, had a 60 yard run to set up another TD, and was a terror around the corner all night, finishing with 216 yards on 9 carries.
Defensive MVP: Wisconsin CB Marcus Cromartie. Cromartie snatched a pass that went through Kenny Bell's hands and took it back 29 yards for a TD to put Wisconsin up 14-0 and get the rout started. Cromartie had 2 more pass break-ups and 7 tackles on the night.
Special Teams MVP: P/K Brett Maher. 19 yard shank aside, Maher was the only Husker to perform up to standard last night. For whatever it was worth.
Freshman MVP: RB Imani Cross. Cross' 26 yard TD at the end looked exactly like a lot of Wisconsin's TDs last night: straight up the middle, break a tackle or two, accelerate to the endzone.
Assistant Coach of the Game:
Wisconsin's O-Line coach Bart Miller. The Omaha native coached his offensive linemen to a stunning success last night. Badger offensive linemen blew Nebraska's defensive linemen off the line, and decimated the linebackers, forcing Nebraska's secondary to make tackles they were incapable of making. Miller was a graduate assistant at the beginning of the year, but he figures to get quite the raise at the end of the season.
Key Stat: 10.9. Wisconsin averaged 10.9 yards on 50 carries. Madness.
Play of the Game:
One of the worst things about this loss is that it overshadows the greatest play I've seen since Eric Crouch's 95 yard run at Missouri. Under extreme duress, Taylor Martinez zig-zagged, cut, and sprinted 76 yards for a TD to answer Cromartie's pick six. If Nebraska gets back on track, and wins the Capital One Bowl, plays like that will fuel a Heisman run in 2013.
Play We Want Back:
If I had to pick one, it would be Gordon's first TD, a 56 yard jet sweep in which he broke the tackles of both safeties and sprinted into the endzone. That play provided a preview of the night our defense was in for. The Huskers couldn't shut down the perimeter runs, and Wisconsin exploited that weakness over and over.
I want to see more...
*Takeaways. In order to force fumbles, you must first tackle. In order to get interceptions, you must first force your opponent to throw. Nebraska did none of those things.
*Ground game. Nebraska had success early, but after falling behind, Tim Beck abandoned the run game in favor of fruitless passing. Wisconsin deserves credit for knocking Nebraska off it's game, but our offensive performance left a lot to be desired.
*Baker Steinkuhler. It's impossible to say for sure how big a difference the senior DT would have made, but let's just remember that Wisconsin had a net of 56 yards rushing the last time these teams met.
*Punt returns. Yes, Wisconsin did punt yesterday, and Nebraska's pun return woes continued, even with Rex Burkhead back deep. When Nebraska doesn't field punts, they roll back for a mile, when Nebraska does field punts (that one time...), Rex lost a yard. At least we didn't muff any.
*Breaks. All of the breaks that the Huskers received in the 6 game winning streak vanished last night. Bell's tip-six, Tim Marlowe's first down catch reversed, Jamal Turner's TD called back. Wisconsin LB Chris Borland said it best after the game: "Unlike 5 other times this year, the ball bounced our way."
*TD toss winner Brad Walker at QB. The winner of Dr. Pepper's halftime promotion couldn't have done any worse.
I want to see less...
*Turnovers. Martinez doesn't get a pass because the defense was playing poorly. I would think by now that Taylor would be so tired of ball security drills that he wouldn't dream of fumbling. His first interception was mostly Bell's fault, but the second was a desperation heave that he shouldn't have thrown. When your defense is getting torn to shreds, the last thing you want to do is put them in bad field position.
*Penalties. You can't say that penalties changed the outcome of the game, but dangit, how are guys supposed to play football if they get flagged every time they make a nice hit. The personal foul on Daimion Stafford was bad, but the call on Bell was just plain stupid. I'm not quite ready to commit to making personal fouls reviewable, but I'm more in favor now than I was a week ago.
*Missed tackles. On Gordon's 56 yard TD to start the game, Stafford missed him at the line of scrimmage, and PJ Smith whiffed about 20 yards downfield. On Montee Ball's 57 yard TD run, he spun out of Jason Ankrah's hands and used a stiff arm to put Ciante Evans on his butt. That was the most pathetic display of tackling since the UCLA game. Something needs to change.
*Defensive confusion. On most plays, the Husker defenders were scrambling around before the snap in the the most confused way possible. Don't think Wisconsin didn't notice, dialing up plenty of motion, formations, and trick plays to keep the Huskers off balance.
*Trick plays. Wisconsin ran about a thousand last night and they all worked. That's just the sort of night the Huskers had.
*Offensive line miscommunication. When the Badgers started showing their Pittsburgh Steelers stand-up defensive line, the Husker offensive line wilted, and pass rushers came free. Martinez was scrambling all night.
*Games on FOX. I said this after the UCLA game and I'll repeat it again. Everything from the poor production quality, to Gus Johnson's WWE-style commentary irritates the heck out of me.
*Late season losses. It's far better to lose early than late. We're headed for another long, negative offseason.
*Brett Bielema's fat face. Seriously. Every time I see that arrogant squinch in Bielema's piggy eyes, I want to kick puppies. Ugliest coach in football.
Armchair coach:
If I'm Bo Pelini after a loss like that, I'm not picking fights with Dirk Chatelain in the postgame news conference. Yes, Dirk was asking a douchey question, but Bo was not in a position to take offense to anything. He used up all of the goodwill he earned in that winning streak with yet another blowout loss, and he needs to circle the wagons and rebuild some optimism.
Hit of the Game:
Kenny Bell gets this award for his epic de-cleating of Devin Smith. If you missed it because you'd already turned the game off, shame on you, but here it is. Watch it again. And again.
Devin Smith should hide his face, not just for getting cartwheeled by a 180 lb wide receiver, but also for the penalty. That was very necessary roughness.
Jennifer's Take (my wife doesn't know much about football, but she still has opinions)
"That was absolutely the most painful game I've ever watched."
She nailed it again.
Keeping an eye on the rest of the college football world...
*There was another conference championship game in Atlanta, perhaps you heard about it. Alabama's ground game was too much in the end, and Georgia's bungled redzone opportunity was salt in the wound for Bulldog fans. When I saw my friend Joe at church this morning, he gave me a hug and said "We both need this."
*Kansas State continued their uncanny dominance over Texas, and they'll probably finish right behind Oregon at #5 in the BCS. Great season for Bill Snyder's squad.
*Northern Illinois won a wild OT thriller over Kent State in the MAC championship and might have secured a BCS bid. Coach Dave Doeren then promptly signed on as NC State's new head coach. A step down in my opinion.
*Had we beaten Wisconsin, we would have played a stronger, faster Wisconsin with a better QB in the Rose Bowl. Stanford's rise as a power on the West Coast is nothing complex: strong running game, physical defense, smart QB play. It's sort of refreshing after Nebraska's game last night.
*Florida State needed a late red zone stand to hold off Georgia Tech in the ACC title game. I hate the Seminoles.
*Oklahoma held off TCU, but they might get bounced by Northern Illinois for a BCS berth.
*Mark Stoops is in at Kentucky, and Skip Holtz is out at South Florida. The coaching carousel continues to spin.
*Who is the only team with 10 wins every year since 2006? Boise State. The Broncos locked up another 10 win season with their victory over Nevada.
Song of the Game
"Holland Road" by Mumford and Sons
"But I'll still believe though there's cracks you'll see,
When I'm on my knees I'll still believe,
And when I've hit the ground, neither lost nor found,
If you'll believe in me I'll still believe"
The Huskers have suffered the worst loss (in every sense) of the Bo Pelini era, and fans are jumping ship. The more level headed among us realize that one game, no matter how disastrous doesn't have to sink a program. The Huskers have failed in their primary goal for the season, but there's still a Capital One Bowl to be played against a big bad SEC opponent. No time for moping.
Beer of the Game
Shiner Bock by Spoetzl Brewing Company, Shiner, TX
Shiner Bock is an American institution, and proof that not all things in Texas are evil. Shiner tastes crisp and finishes clean like a good lager should. If you happen to travel in Texas, Shiner Bock is ubiquitous, but it's available for a decent price pretty much everywhere.
Best Commercial
Maybe it's because I have a keen memory of how I was when I was a little kid, but this AT&T commercial really cracks me up. I can't wait until my son says stuff like this.
Last thought
I still can't quite believe what happened last night. Teams don't run for 539 yards on anybody, let alone Nebraska. Honestly, I think Nebraska somehow overlooked Wisconsin and paid the price in a heartbreaking fashion.
Still, the season isn't over. There's an SEC opponent waiting in Orlando, and Bo desperately needs a bowl win to pacify the civil war that's brewing in the fan base.
Fans need to take a step back and get a little perspective. Nebraska is 10-3, and headed into a pretty decent bowl game. No, we didn't meet our goals for the season, but that doesn't mean that the year was a waste. Nebraska is in the hunt for several program changing recruits, and with a good offseason, the Husker's are still poised for a National Title run next year. Sure, the road to a conference championship will never be easier, but there's nothing that happened last night that a nice string of wins won't erase.
On to Orlando.
