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Coming into the Big Ten opener, Wisconsin had looked great, but hadn’t really been tested.
After the opener, nothing has changed.
The Badgers totally took apart Nebraska in what was supposed to have been an historic moment in Nebraska football. Instead, it was one of the more embarrassing nights in Cornhusker history, leaving more than 20,000 Nebraska fans wondering why they had bothered to make a trip to Madison.
In what looked a lot like a return to the Bill Callahan era, the Huskers abandoned what had been a fairly effective running game for a critical stretch in the middle of the game and were taken apart by an impressive Wisconsin team that conducts itself the way Nebraska used to.
The perception before the game was that there was a clear gap between Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson and Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez. Actually, it’s more like a chasm. The only one who had a worse night than Martinez at Camp Randall Stadium was Tim Beck.
Martinez was playing effectively at the start of the game, but almost without warning, he lost control of the game in the second quarter, turning the ball over three times in four possessions.
Bo Pelini and the Huskers were thoroughly outcoached and outplayed in every aspect of the game except possibly for Ameer Abdullah’s kick returns.
The transfer of Wilson from North Carolina State to Wisconsin is probably the most important single event in the Big Ten Conference this season; his athletic ability is eclipsed only by his poise and decision-making skills. One has to wonder about the judgment of North Carolina State coach Tom O’Brien who decided there was no room on the Wolfpack team for Wilson because he wanted to continue to play minor league baseball in the off season.
For the Huskers, the most perplexing thing Saturday night in Madison was Beck’s inexplicable decision to stake the outcome on the pocket passing ability of Martinez, who quickly proved his offensive coordinator’s folly by throwing three interceptions that led to 21 Wisconsin points. End of game.
With Nebraska leading 14-13 midway through the second quarter, freshman right tackle Tyler Moore leaned ahead before the snap at the 9:48 mark. That mistake seemed to totally unnerve Beck, who started acting like Nebraska was behind by three touchdowns. He called three consecutive passes, which led to a punt.
On the next series, with the Huskers still clinging to their lead, Beck called his final running play until less than 12 minutes remained in the third quarter. By that time, Nebraska was indeed trailing by three touchdowns.
Beck has done a decent job throughout the nonconference season, and it would be wrong to lay too much blame on the offensive side of the ball. The Husker defense has been soft at times this fall, and it collapsed in the second half.
The coaching staff seemed to lose control of the team late in the game, and the whole night was capped off by a frustrated Courtney Osborne’s personal foul on a Badger player more than 30 yards away from the ball, which extended Wisconsin’s last touchdown drive.
“I’m embarrassed by how we played defensively,” Pelini said. “I apologize to the fans of Nebraska, because that was a joke – plain and simple.”
The Blackshirts have been underachievers so far this season. Most notably, they’ve forced only five turnovers in five games. The defensive line has been a major disappointment so far. I wonder if Ndamukong Suh would even recognize this Husker d-line, which not been a disruptive force. Not even close. If Nebraska is to win 10 games this year, that has to change.
I believe it will. The Nebraska defense is young in places, but not as young as the Husker offense. It has no excuses; it needs to step up and play much better than it has. But first, someone has to decide that he will be a leader on the defensive side of the ball.
Formerly the sports editor at the North Platte Bulletin and a sportswriter/columnist for the North Platte Telegraph, Tad Stryker is a longtime Nebraska sports writer, having covered University of Nebraska and high school sports for more than 25 years. He started writing for this website in 2008. You can e-mail him at tad.stryker@gmail.com
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