The chants of “Big Ten Football” rained down on Nebraska last night as the crowd at Camp Randall Stadium reveled in a 48-17 beat down in Madison last night. Nebraska’s introduction to the Big Ten couldn’t have been a worse result for Bo Pelini and his Cornhuskers, but it was not a fair introduction to what Big Ten Football really is.
It was an introduction to Wisconsin Football, and at least for 2011, Wisconsin Football is simply a different class of Big Ten Football.
The Badgers crushed a Nebraska defense with more name value than actual value, compiling (officially) 486 yards with an incredible balance (255 yards passing, 231 yards rushing). The Badgers defense stymied the Huskers after a few successful early drives, holding Taylor Martinez to 176 yards passing and three interceptions and the overall running game to only 159 yards.
Russell Wilson starred again, throwing for 255 yards on only 20 attempts and adding 32 rushing yards, accounting for three total touchdowns. Montee Ball made it a balanced attack for the Badgers, picking up 151 yards on 30 carries, clearly taking the featured back role on the night. Rex Burkhead had the best performance for the Huskers, racking up 96 yards on 18 carries (5.3 per rush).
Let’s go to the charts:
Offensive Summary
Plays: 68
Yards: 480 (7.1 per play)
Points: 48 (0.71 per play)
Success Rate: 51% (35-for-68)
The story of the game was balance for the Badgers. At times, it was the running game gashing the Huskers for success after success — the Badgers’ second and seventh drives, both touchdowns, had one pass attempt combined. Other times, Russell Wilson’s passing attack scorched the Huskers’ secondary — the Badgers’ ran only twice in their fifth and sixth drives combined, leading to the two scores to gain a 27-13 lead.
The one negative in the passing game was the sack, something Wilson had avoided with success for much of the non-conference schedule. Wilson took two sacks for 15 yards, including the one which killed the Badgers’ first drive. Even with the sacks factored in, Wilson was still ruthlessly efficient. In 22 attempts, he totaled 240 passing yards, for 10.9 yards per attempt (12.7 adjusted yards per attempt). With his rushes, Wilson totaled 287 yards on 26 action plays. All-in-all, it was another fantastic, Heisman-worthy performance for the senior.
James White was largely shut down. The younger, smaller back was held to 26 yards on 11 rushes (2.4 per rush), paving the way for Montee Ball to take sole ownership of the running game. Ball tore through the Huskers line with sustained bursts, including the aforementioned all-run drives.
Defensive Summary
Plays: 61
Yards: 305 (5.0 per play)
Points: 17 (0.46 per play)
Success Rate: 46% (28-for-61)
Taylor Martinez came into the game with questions about his passing. He left it with answers, but none were positive. The Huskers’ passing game was left in shambles, putting together a mere 189 yards (after sacks) on 24 passing plays. The 7.9 raw yards per attempt isn’t awful, but once we factor in Martinez’s three interceptions — all on awful, awful throws — his adjusted yards per attempt factors in at an awful 2.3.
The Huskers didn’t have success in the option, either. Martinez was stuffed on his rushing attempts, picking up only 61 yards on 20 attempts. The only successful player for the Huskers was tailback Rex Burkhead, but he was a secondary character for the Huskers’ offense, only earning 19 touches but picking up 105 yards (5.5 per).
Mike Taylor was the star for the Badgers defense, intercepting Martinez once and swarming on defense. Antonio Fenelus and Aaron Henry accounted for the other two interceptions.
It wasn’t anything new for Wisconsin, really. The Badgers dominated both sides of the ball en route to a blowout victory. The difference? This one came against a quality opponent. Put New Orleans on notice: the Badgers have staked their claim to a National Championship bid.