Nebraska has been unstoppable this season and is now the lone undefeated team in college football. They haven't lost a set in Big Ten play the entire season. Many pundits saw the most likely loss, or at least a set loss, for the Wisconsin Badgers. For Nebraska, it was a road challenge in a hostile environment, coming in maybe overly confident.
However, Nebraska kept both the set streak and the undefeated play going through Wisconsin. While the Badgers were able to battle them in the first two sets, putting them on the ropes, it ultimately didn't matter. For head coach Kelly Sheffield, he sees there's a gap between where Nebraska is and where Wisconsin needs to be.
"That's the best team in the country right now, and so if you have any aspirations of being in the ball game with [them], then there's a gap there. That's what it is, and that needs to drive you every day. If you have aspirations of going toe-to-toe with them at the end of the season. They're the standard, right? What I want is players and teams, and typically we have that, that enjoy that kind of challenge."Kelly Sheffield
Wisconsin sees the challenge in Nebraska with eyes set on surpassing them
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When Kelly Sheffield was asked what adjustments Wisconsin would make and how it would improve to dethrone Nebraska if they were to see them again in the postseason or similar challenges ahead, Sheffield was coy and said he would keep that in-house and not put it out there for his opponents to see.
However, he did say that he has a team that embraces the challenge, sees the gap, and is willing to work towards that goal. He did say it's hard for his team right now because they are dealing with health issues that Nebraska isn't dealing with, but that's no excuse, and they can rise to the challenge.
Wisconsin still has high aspirations for the season and the postseason, and Nebraska just revealed how big a leap they need to make if they want to jump to the top.