Steven M. Sipple: As water rises all around the Huskers, Frost tries to keep the boat afloat | Soccer

In the world of Nebraska football, the water continues to rise. The losses continue to come. If you are a Husker fan, it is as if your basement was soaking up water and you are praying for the rain to stop … please … stop.

In this regard, words from Johnny Cash appeared on Saturday night as Wisconsin treated Nebraska 41-24 at Camp Randall Stadium with too predictable results.

How high is mom's water? Two feet high and rising … One can get to the road by boat house, it's the only thing left that can float.

Adrian Martinez and JD Spielman helped keep Nebraska's hopes afloat for at least part of the night. Maurice Washington continues to be promising. The Husker attack was excellent sometimes. But there were a lot of empty yards. When you lose from a distance, without ever seriously threatening to overtake your opponent, the yards tend to be empty.

Nebraska, as usual, was training under the weight of double-digit penalties – 10 per 100 yards versus 5 per 50 in Wisconsin. When the Huskers needed to defend themselves, Blackshirts too often collapsed under the weight of Wisconsin. deadly ground attack.

When halfback Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin scored 88 yards for a touchdown with 12:50 to go in the match, the contract was sealed. What a powerful shot for the big back, who finished with 221 yards in 24 races. It's 9.2 per race. It's the domination, the people. The Badgers (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) led 41-17 after Taylor's score. You knew where it was going.

Nebraska (0-5, 0-3) lost their ninth straight game since last season. The Huskers have lost 11 of their last 12 games. Well before this game, the feeling of losing had become too common. The more you lose, the easier it is to accept for some people. This should be a concern for Husker's first-year head coach, Scott Frost, who was nonetheless optimistic in his post-game session with reporters.

He said that he was proud of the way his players fought and that things are going in the right direction. He went so far as to say that the home defeat against Purdue last week could have been a turning point for the team because of the quality of its performance over the next few days. The players loved each other all week, he said, and held themselves responsible. They did it during a week during which recipient Tyjon Lindsey and Greg Bell having decided to leave the program decided to leave the program, believing that they were underutilized.

Maybe the departures have brought the team closer together.

"I'm excited to be their coach," Frost said of his remaining players, "and I think those guys are excited for the rest of the season."

Frost's optimistic behavior was in some ways predictable. He had challenged his guys with a harder tone in the previous weeks. He basically tries to find the right buttons and keep his team in a positive state of mind.

After all, Nebraska have lost their last five games to start a season in 1945. The Huskers have never lost their top six.

How high is the water, mom? Three feet high and getting up … Well, the hives are gone, I lost my bees. The hens sleep in the willows.

Nebraska fans are generally reasonable. Most are patient and understand Frost's challenge. Of the others, not so much. But only a minority lost their bees. That's my reading. That said, patience is obviously put to the test when losses accumulate. At one point, patience becomes a big word.

This season is already long. The Huskers of the coming week will face a North West team that regained confidence on Saturday with a 29-19 win at Michigan State. The Wildcats, by the way, were penalized only 13 times in all seasons, 39 less than Nebraska. As in Wisconsin, Northwestern culture is firmly established. The Huskers may have a talent advantage against the Wildcats, but the Frost crew must be fundamentally stronger.

Yes, it's a euphemism. Sometimes the fundamentals get lost in the reshuffle during a coaching change.

Wisconsin is proud to avoid critical mistakes.

"Right now, they're just better than us," said Badgers' Frost. "You can not let a team like this get ahead of you because they keep pounding and pounding with the running game."

Yeah, another euphemism.

How high is mom's water? Five feet high and risin … Well, the rails are carried north of the city. We must go to the heights.

Martinez and Spielman were indeed thrilling to watch, especially Spielman, who broke his own single-goal rushing record in Nebraska, this time with 209 assists in nine takes. His 75-yard touchdown reception brought Nebraska 20-10 early in the third quarter.

Wisconsin responded with a 71-yard touchdown, 71 games. You knew how this game would end.

"I'm tired of being disappointed and having to fight every game," Spielman said.

His frustration is understandable. Hoping that he can keep the sense of humor, even if the rain is debilitating.