Wisconsin Football: 3 takeaways from win over Nebraska in Week 6
2. Nebraska is a mess
On Nebraska’s first drive of the game against Big Ten West rival Wisconsin, quarterback Tanner Lee threw an errant pass to inside linebacker Chris Orr that resulted in a 78-yard touchdown.
It was 7-0 Wisconsin without a single offensive play.
And the game didn’t get much better for Nebraska as the evening progressed.
On the Cornhuskers’ second trip to the red zone, early in the second quarter, Lee and company failed to reach the end zone on three subsequent plays, and had to settle for a 33-yard field goal attempt, but yet again, fate intervened and the kick was wide right.
It just seemed like no matter what Nebraska did, it couldn’t catch a break.
The Cornhuskers were ultimately outscored by Wisconsin by a score of 38-17 and only managed posses the ball for 23 minutes against the Badger’s fourth-ranked defense.
And honestly, should fans even be surprised?
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This season has been an absolute mess for the Cornhuskers, from the firing of Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst to the team’s Week 3 loss to a non-Power Five opponent, the Northern Illinois Huskies, for the first time at home since 2004, it just seems like Nebraska has been a shell of its former self.
Even though Nebraska’s 34th-ranked defense has been solid this season, the team’s 87th-ranked offense hasn’t been nearly consistent enough to keep Nebraska in games against even the worst opponents.
Nebraska wants to be just like Wisconsin, but in Week 6 we found out just how far apart to two teams really are.
If Nebraska can reestablish its identity as a power running team after only ranking 72nd in the nation in 2017, they may once again be able to challenge the likes of Wisconsin for a place atop the Big Ten West, but for now they will be lucky to remain bowl eligible in 2017.