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The final figures of the University of Wisconsin's defense against Nebraska on Saturday night – 24 points and 518 yards allowed – will not impress anyone, especially regular Badgers on this side of the ball in recent years.
With the shorthanded group in many areas, UW, ranked 16th (4-1, 2-0), has just managed to counter a talented Cornhusker offensive to allow a comfortable 41-24 win at Camp Randall Stadium.
"A lot of players have played, and it was not always good, but you appreciate their preparation and their departure," said UW coach Paul Chryst. "We needed a lot of guys, really in all areas, not just in the back.We played several guys, and that's why I think it was a nice team win . "
UW cornerback Caesar Williams (left leg) missed Saturday's game, and another key player in the same position, Redshirt rookie Deron Harrell (head), left midway through the second quarter. This forced true rookie Rachad Wildgoose to take meaningful photos for the first time this season.
The Isaiahh Loudermilk defense (left leg) was also injured late in the third quarter, around the time the authorities expelled Scott Nelson from safety. In addition, linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (right ankle) was limited and did not start.
Nevertheless, the Badgers' defense has improved in some areas in its previous two performances against BYU and Iowa.
UW did not allow a lot of big games in the run and linebacker TJ Edwards recorded two sacks from his quarterback, Adrian Martinez, after the Badgers scored just three goals in their first four games . They have applied much more pressure than in recent weeks and have also largely neutralized Martinez as a runner.
It was not entirely positive, of course. Huskers catcher JD Spielman, who had 209 yards on nine catches, was released for a 75-yard touchdown after Nelson lost cover to start the second half, reducing UW's lead to 20- 10. Spielman's 38-yard gain later in the quarter led to another score that kept Nebraska (0-5, 0-3) alive at 34-17. Martinez finished with 24 assists in 42 assists for a total of 384 yards and three touchdowns.
"(We wanted to) just hold his pocket," said UW linebacker Zack Baun. "Rather a mentality of hurry than attack, because that opens the B holes." (Martinez) can really move. Coming out of the pocket, it's hard to play these games the race, and he did a good job. "
The Badgers made important saves on Saturday.
Baun called while waiting while putting pressure on Nebraska's third order. Even after Martinez collaborated with Stanley Morgan Jr. for 25 yards on third base, the Badgers limited the Huskers by only 3 points.
In the next outing, which was Wildgoose's first action, Edwards returned Martinez for a loss of five on the 38-yard UW line, and Nebraska failed to convert to fourth and 11th.
After Spielman's long touchdown in the third quarter, linebacker Tyler Johnson forced Martinez to fumble and nose tackle Olive Sagapolu pulled himself together in the 41-game.
The UW attack certainly helped the game by holding the ball for nearly 19 minutes in the first half, and running back Jonathan Taylor produced another outstanding day with 221 yards and three touchdowns in 24 races. This is Taylor's second 200-yard game this season and fifth in 19 career games. The Badgers finished with 370 rushing yards in 48 attempts.
"The coach told us we needed to score more points in attack," said UW striker Jake Ferguson. "We can not rely on defense as much as we did in the past, the offensive really needs to intensify, and I thought we had really taken the right steps in this game."
The Badgers started the game with 15 shots in which they converted twice in short-distance games, but finished with just 3 points.
Running back Garrett Groshek pushed forward 42 yards for 3 yards. Taylor then scored 15 and 1 yards on 15 points, but training stopped and kicker Rafael Gaglianone converted after 30 yards.
The Huskers stopped UW two times later in the red zone. The Badgers started with a good midfield position after a deflated kick and converted to third and fifth place when quarterback Alex Hornibrook found Ferguson for 15-yard gain in Nebraska 12.
Hornibrook's third move to the end zone was high, however, and Gaglianone attempted a 28-yard effort, tying Todd Gregoire's record with 65 career goals.
UW walked the field a little faster on his next outing. ONE J. Taylor started the race by beating his man on a fast incline and ran a total of 26 yards for the Huskers. Danny Davis grabbed a high pass near the sideline for a 16-yard gain some players later, giving the first goal on the 8, and Jonathan Taylor scored a 3-yard touchdown to give UW a 13-yard advantage. -3 with 6:51 to do in the second quarter.
A 24-yard Groshek run and a pass interference on Nebraska cornerback Lamar Jackson against Davis allowed the other to score another goal before half-time. Ferguson had a 14-yard pass in the end zone with 42 seconds left to advance.
Taylor scored his second touchdown on a 21-yard pass early in the third quarter, which gave the Badgers a 27-10 lead, and Taiwan Deal scored another 20 yards after Johnson's forced scramble .
Martinez's 12-yard score against Jack Stoll while it was only 4:20 left in the third quarter gave a glimmer of hope to Nebraska, but Taylor put the game out of reach with his third touchdown of the match – a career record of 88 yards in the middle – to extend the Badgers lead to 41-17 with 12:50 remaining.
"It was just one thing to stick with the game plan, stay with the slopes, take the five meters, take all three," said Taylor. "In the end, we will go bankrupt, and it's up to you to make it count."
Martinez added a 7-yard touchdown with 9:11 to go, but the Huskers did not have time to make their comeback.
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