Wisconsin Nebraska Breakdown

[Smart]

When I go through the game unit by unit, I get:

QB: Advantage Wisconsin. Nothing overly controversial here. Martinez is a great runner and an average passer. Russell Wilson is a very good runner, a great scrambler, and a very good passer, not to mention a better leader than Martinez.

RB: Advantage Wisconsin. Rex Burkhead is a good player for Nebraska, but he can't match the White-Ball combo. Both ran for at least 996 yards last year, and they are much receiving backs.

Receivers: Advantage Wisconsin. Neither unit is spectacular, but Nick Toon and Jared Abbredaris have had great starts to the season. Nebraska's wide receivers, not so much. Wisconsin has the clear edge at TE as well.

O-Line: Advantage Wisconsin. The team is averaging 5.7 YPC despite every opponent stacking 8-9 guys in the box. Russell Wilson has a ton of time to throw the football. These guys have a ton of experience. Nebraska is a solid young line, but they aren't to Wisconsin's level yet.

D-Line: Advantage Nebraska. Nebraska's D-Line has been very overrated, but they still get the slight edge here. The DTs for Wisconsin got pushed around a bit in the UNLV game, and while they seemed to have improved, they may get exposed against Nebraska's solid O-Line. Jared Crick is a phenomenal player. Assuming he's fairly healthy, Nebraska gets this category.

Linebackers: Advantage Wisconsin. Sure, Lavonte David gets a lot of tackles, but that is partially because the rest of the linebackers are slow. The combo of Mike Taylor and Chris Borland has been incredible the last three games, and is more than enough to give us the edge at linebacker.

Secondary: Advantage Wisconsin. Nebraska's secondary has gotten shredded this year. Wisconsin's secondary has had injuries. so depth is a concern. The group out there now, though, is extremely solid, which Nebraska can only dream to be.

Special Teams: Advantage Nebraska. This is one area where they have the heavy edge. Brett Maher is a great kicker. Wisconsin's four year starter at kicker, Philip Welch, is a great kicker as well, but he hasn't kicked yet this year due to injuries. His replacement hasn't looked very good. Alec Lerner, whose sole job is to do kickoffs, has been kicking it out of bounds recently. When it comes to the return game, Nebraska and Ameer Abdullah have the heavy edge.

Coaching: Even. Bielema has had his moments where he and his coordinators have gotten outcoached (see: The Rose Bowl). At the same time, he is a much better motivator than Pelini's staff. Their team always seems to come out flat, and they won't get away with that at Camp Randall.

Atmosphere: Advantage Wisconsin. Camp Randall will be absolutely rocking, and our team loves to feed off of that energy. The Nebraska fans who make the journey will be drowned out.

If I have to make a prediction, it would be 45-27 Wisconsin. As my positional analysis clearly shows, I think we are the better team. Nebraska can win this game, but they're going to need some big plays, particularly a special teams touchdown or a turnover. I just don't see enough of those big plays to get the win.

 

[iruletheskool]

QB- I'm not at all sold on either QB, but I'd give a slight edge to Wisconsin

RB- I'd call it a push. Rex is a beast, and we have 3 studs backing him up.

WR- We have a big advantage here, and I LOL @ your take.

OL- probably the only take I agreed with. We're gaining solid experience tho, and improving rapidly

DL- with or without Crick, our D line is head and shoulders above Wisconsin's. you may say they were 'very overrated' but our DL relies a lot on other parts of our defense that have been a let down so far, and have not allowed the DL to shine.

LBs- I know nothing about Wisconsins LBs, and have no idea who to give this edge to.. Husker LBs haven't played great, and Lavonte needs to show me more.

Secondary- I lol'd heartily and am not even going to respond to this one.

ST- Agree here too, so i was wrong earlier about not agreeing on any more.

Coaching- I agree on calling it even.. but Bo gets the team up for big games.. especially on the road

Atmosphere- Don't discount the power of 30-40k Husker fans in YOUR stadium.

I'm predicting a Husker win 31-24. I think the game will be close and could swing 7-10 points either way. You will not score 45.

 

[MarkOU]

I cannot agree or disagree with your assessment because 1 you are a wisconsin fan and 2 I haven't looked at either team much.

I think I will have to revist this post soon. :typing:

 

[TexasMan]

QB- I'm not at all sold on either QB, but I'd give a slight edge to Wisconsin

RB- I'd call it a push. Rex is a beast, and we have 3 studs backing him up.

WR- We have a big advantage here, and I LOL @ your take.

OL- probably the only take I agreed with. We're gaining solid experience tho, and improving rapidly

DL- with or without Crick, our D line is head and shoulders above Wisconsin's. you may say they were 'very overrated' but our DL relies a lot on other parts of our defense that have been a let down so far, and have not allowed the DL to shine.

LBs- I know nothing about Wisconsins LBs, and have no idea who to give this edge to.. Husker LBs haven't played great, and Lavonte needs to show me more.

Secondary- I lol'd heartily and am not even going to respond to this one.

ST- Agree here too, so i was wrong earlier about not agreeing on any more.

Coaching- I agree on calling it even.. but Bo gets the team up for big games.. especially on the road

Atmosphere- Don't discount the power of 30-40k Husker fans in YOUR stadium.

I'm predicting a Husker win 31-24. I think the game will be close and could swing 7-10 points either way. You will not score 45.

LMAO!!

 

[iruletheskool]

LMAO!!

 

[MarkOU]

Wisconsin looks like a very well oiled machine thus far. Russel Wilson has adapted well to the offense in his first year. The defense has been solid but seems to be lacking in getting sacks and forcing turnovers but when you are allowing only 33% sucess on 3rd down you really don't have to rely on big plays from your defense. I think you can credit that to the lack of quality opponents Wisconsin has faced.

I clearly like the edge on QB going to Wisconsin. Wilson is a big time play maker with not only his legs but his arm too. He has a great compliment in the back field with the duo of Ball and White. Having a big guy like Jacod Pederson as a go to guy has been very valuable seeing how he has already caught 4TD passes all of them from inside the 20(3 from inside the 10). Once the Wisconsin offense gets rolling, it can be hard to stop.

Nebraska is built for the run and relys on passing only when they have too. Taylor Martinez has quick speed and great vision when tucking the ball but shows that he still hesitates when deciding to throw. Their defense is bending all over the place and thats a bit unusual with a guy like Pelini at the helm.

The key for Nebrsaka to stop Wisconsin is not allowing the big play from Wilson. I think thats going to be very hard for them to do because they seem to be giving up big plays all over the place and Wilson is just the guy to get em.

The teams are pretty much even in Red Zone defense both having give up over 70% of all drives into the Red Zone for Touchdowns.

This game could possibly be a preview to the first BIG TEN CCG in December. I like Wisconsin at home in this one 44-32.

 

[OregonDucks]

Wisconsin is going to destroy Nebraska. Nebraska has not looked good at all this year and i remember last year Nebraskas offense put up #s until they started meeting decent defenses. They wont get anything going against Wisconsin. Early prediction.

Wisconsin 38

Nebraska 14

unlike previous years, Nebraska doesnt even have a good defense to try and keep them in big games.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

A few comments...

1. Not sold on Russell Wilson. Okay... You and 24/7. Check.

2. There's a bit of cockiness about the number of Nebraska fans who will be at the game. Wisconsin fans' generosity may bite them in the ass, I admit, but I've noticed that Nebraska fans seem to think they are somehow unparalleled. IMO...nobody stays loud and into a game like the Badger fans. Never a dull moment. You'll see.

3. If you don't know our linebackers, you don't know anything about our defense. Chris Borland was the B1G freshman of the year in 2009. He had an injury last year, and has been adjusting to middle linebacker, but he's pretty close to full speed again. Mike Taylor is back to 100% finally, and may be the purest LB we have. Kevin Claxton may be the fastest in pads, despite Chris Borland's 4.4 forty time. As the season goes on, they will be the strength of the defense...no matter how much the line improves.

4. Our defensive tackles may not be flashy, but they're big boys. I don't know what the problem was against UNLV, but it wasn't a problem with Oregon State or Northern Illinois. Nebraska likes to run outside the tackles anyway....and they may have to. But like I said, Taylor and Claxton will be there.

5. Aaron Henry is likely one of the top safeties in the B1G this season. Antonio Fenelus is a hell of a corner. It isn't a stretch to say our secondary is good. Martinez won't necessarily get away with little screens and short slants to make up for his lack of down field throwing. If you can't stretch the field, the Wisconsin defense will exploit you over time.

6. LOL @ our wide receivers? This has been a highly overblown criticism this year. Nick Toon is a basketball player in the endzone. Abbredaris gets open no matter who covers him. I expect Garner to have a breakout game this Saturday. And I think Chryst has been keeping his cards close to his chest with a couple of the young speedsters we have. The Huskers will see things even the Badger fans haven't seen yet. And our receivers have a better quarterback, in case you were still confused about that. MUCH better, in case you were still confused about that after reading the last sentence. Nevermind the fact that we have a solid tight end in Pederson and a fullback in Brady Ewing that actually splits out wide just for fun now and then.

I'm not even predicting a score. Wisconsin wins.

7. The key for Nebraska is to stop the big play from Wilson? No... The key for Nebraska is to stop Wisconsin from running the ball and chewing up the clock. Because if they don't stop that, Wilson will torch them when he sees the opportunity. And Ball and White will explode if that defense gets tired.

 

[Brasky]

Kyler Reed is better than any TE you have on your roster, sorry.

WR's aren't even close like irule said. Outside of Toon, they couldn't hold Nebraska's recieving corps jock. LOL @ your assessment there. The speed and athleticism... Wiscy aint even in the same galaxy.

RB is a push. Burkhead is incredibly versatile, physical, and doesn't put the ball on the ground. 3 freshman RB's behind him are just as, if not more talented than white and ball. (Not joking)

 

[ForkEmBucky]

Kyler Reed is better than any TE you have on your roster, sorry.

Nobody said Pederson was the best tight end, he's part of a unit. He'll be open, and Martinez can't even hold Wilson's jock strap. We'll settle this next Saturday.

 

[MarkOU]

A few comments...


7. The key for Nebraska is to stop the big play from Wilson? No... The key for Nebraska is to stop Wisconsin from running the ball and chewing up the clock. Because if they don't stop that, Wilson will torch them when he sees the opportunity. And Ball and White will explode if that defense gets tired.

About that. You say that Nebraska trying to stop the big play from Wilson is not the key then in the same sentence you say how he will torch them.

:confused2:

 

[iruletheskool]

Ben Cotton is also a better TE than any on your roster.

 

[iruletheskool]

and I didn't LOL @ your receivers, just his take on ours.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

About that. You say that Nebraska trying to stop the big play from Wilson is not the key then in the same sentence you say how he will torch them.

:confused2:

The key for them is stopping the run. Wisconsin's offense isn't pass first, even with Wilson. If they can't stop the run Wilson will beat them down field. So yea, in my opinion, the key for them is to keep Wisconsin from establishing the run. If our offensive line handles them on the first drive, it will be difficult for them to stop the offense from that point on, I think.

 

[MarkOU]

The key for them is stopping the run. Wisconsin's offense isn't pass first, even with Wilson. If they can't stop the run Wilson will beat them down field. So yea, in my opinion, the key for them is to keep Wisconsin from establishing the run. If our offensive line handles them on the first drive, it will be difficult for them to stop the offense from that point on, I think.

Nebraska won't stop the run. They are giving up 133 ypg.

The key will be stoping Wilsons big play threat. Which you are basicly agreeing with me on because you said he will 'torch' them.

This wont be a low scoring game, Nebraska will get its points.

 

[iruletheskool]

You guys have sure played some stiff competition up to this point. No way Huskers have a chance.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

and I didn't LOL @ your receivers, just his take on ours.

Come on, don't be all friendly about it now!!!! There's a game to be played! We can go back to being Big Red brothers from a different mother later.

 

[Brasky]

lol @ Mercenary QB's en sech.

 

[iruletheskool]

Come on, don't be all friendly about it now!!!! There's a game to be played! We can go back to being Big Red brothers from a different mother later.

well mmkray then.. :pops:



Bell, Turner, and Enunwa are 3 young guys I would take over any of your receivers.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

You guys have sure played some stiff competition up to this point. No way Huskers have a chance.

Our quarterback sure has been as questionable as yours up to this point.